Thirteen
by Wildfire Fenrir
Summary: It sounded like a simple task for the team at first: find a guy, find a package, take the package. It didn't sound like much for a mid term, Find Thirteen. Of course, that's never the hard part. It's dealing with all the surprises that the package brings...and all the evil it's ready to unleash into the world.
1. Part One: The Task

Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, and thank god I don't because I don't think I could do it any justice. That being said, I do claim the originals.

Introduction: Welcome to what I call the result of spending time practicing a hobby instead of writing midterm papers. This is a story, with varying levels of complexity that I had thought up after watching too much RWBY. But before i keep prattling on about the story, I'd like to issue a warning: there will be OCs and a plot that might screw with the actual lore of RWBY. While I will attempt my best to keep things reasonably within standards, I'll most definitely be making adjustments. That aside, I would like to welcome you to this version of RWBY. Please sit back and enjoy, maybe it will draw you in.

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**Chapter One:**** Thirteen**

Part One: The Task

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_"The task for you today is simple at first glance. However, should one look beyond the text, a person could bring out many questions regarding it. Who has it? What is it? Where is he? The deeper you inquire, the more complex something is, and the less simple your task becomes. The test for the teams is this: bring me a package being carried by thirteen within two days. There is only one, and I will allow you to infer what you will with that. How you achieve your goal...is up to you."_

Cryptic. That was really all Weiss thought when she looked at the scrap of paper given to them by Ozpin. It was not as if it was hard to interpret; after all she was Weiss Schnee, a superior being compared to her company. Well, not too hard. Weiss turned the paper over several times, examining it closely. Crude. Maybe it wasn't as easy as she had thought. She couldn't say so, obviously it would tarnish her image and she wouldn't have that. Thankfully, a certain blonde bombshell was there to assist with that.

"What the heck are we supposed to do?" Yang Xiao Long scratched her head, turning the gears in her head to produce a theory. The group sat on their beds in their rooms.

"I've got no idea." Piped up Ruby Rose, turning the paper every which way, and almost tearing it in the process. "We're supposed to find something and bring it back to him right? Do we work together with other teams?"

"I would think so. There's only one package and we could probably use all the help we could get."

"But what if he only takes it from one group. What would happen to the others?" Weiss turned and asked the group. "Do we all get credit? I mean, if he only credit's one team wouldn't the others be inclined to backstab the others?"

"Perhaps we should find this "thirteen" and ascertain the package's size first." Blake spoke up finally. "The paper says the package will probably be moving along Highway Five, and then either go through Passenchael Road to Downtown or Lichtinhere Street. Both have a post office." She produced a map from one of her pockets to point out the streets.

"Then...should we split into two teams?" Yang twirled a lock of her hair, "It'll make things easier to find it."

"I don't think we should separate. Passenchael and Lichtinhere go two different directions in the Commercial District. If we need help the other group has to run several blocks to even get close. We should stay together and watch the Highway. If we can find it moving on the highway we have a better chance of finding it later." Weiss crossed her arms and pointed to a building close to the Passenchael exit. "We just need to know what we're looking for."

"Maybe there's a further message? Let's see...Oh, the back."

Ruby turned over her paper as Yang pointed to the nonsensical writing.

_Spark of lightning, charged forever,_

_Thunderous spark and vermillion blaze,_

_Thirteen stars marked as Red, does he carry the package._

The others leaned over as Blake read it aloud for the group to ear. "It certainly isn't good prose...or poetry."

"Better than _those_ books you read?" Blake glared daggers at Blondie, earning her a chuckle from said blonde haired brawler.

"Hmm...'_Marked as Red,' _so I guess that means the thirteen is red? Well that should be simple right? I mean that just narrows it all down to anyone wearing red and painted red." Ruby put the assignment paper away, "Anyways, I think Weiss has the right idea! Let's go team!" Ruby raised her fist and pointed towards the airship dock, "Uh...which ship do we take?"

Yang smiles and pats Ruby's head, "Don't worry, I'll guide you guys in town! I should also go check on my bike at the workshop, see if they finished tuning it up." Yang jumped off her bed and bowled out the door.

"Hey wait! We have to change and gear up! Wait! Yaaaannnnggg!" Ruby and the rest of team RWBY ran after their energetic team mate to stop, or stall, her.

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After a brief trip to the locker rooms and loading for bear, as well as the uneventful trip to the commercial district, the team found themselves outside of a red brick building. The sounds, and stench of oil, were the telltale signs of a mechanics workshop. Several mechanics milled about, idly chatting or working on some sort of vehicle. Yang grinned and walked towards one of the younger mechanics wearing a dirty, oil stained jumpsuit with a shark riding a motor bike emblem emblazoned on the back.

"Ugh, why are we here in this dirty place? This place is so unsanitary and noisy!" Weiss griped as she stood on the block with Blake. The heiress had decided to maintain a level of distance away, to prevent the heat and other disgusting things from reaching and getting to her. The two watched as Yang and Ruby followed the cheerful man into the garage to discuss something.

"Yang wanted to pick something up. I'm sure she'll be quick about it." Blake leaned against the lamppost they were near and produced a small novella to flip through. "Just wait a moment..."

"So, is it ready Andrew? You said you would upgrade it for me in exchange for the parts." Yang leaned over the Latin looking man's shoulder as he wrote on a paper.

"For you my lady, of course. But I need to warn you, even if it can blaze at ludicrous speeds, it has become far from dust efficient." Andrew grinned and spoke in a suave Latin accent. He stood up straight and pulled off his dirty work gloves, "Of course, if I had Crasher's bike I could just reverse engineer his engine."

"Really? You could? That'd be great! Ya know where he is?" Yang perked up and clapped her hands together smiling broadly.

"Hmm...if you would my lady, I could find out. I believe he's got the radio pack still. I just need to give him a call. Though if I remember the last time our team spoke, he was on a job for Star of Polaris..." Andrew walked over to a dust powered radio set and tinkered with it, adjusting the frequency carefully.

Ruby got a closer look at Andrew, last name Ramirez, as her sister waited patiently. He wasn't exactly a tall muscle man. Lanky, tanned, and rather messy with an air of gentlemanliness. He wasn't a total slice of beefcake, to borrow from Yang's vocabulary, but he certainly was good looking. She could guess that he was perhaps in his twenties or so. "Hey sis? I'm gonna go check on the others. How long do you think this will take? We still have a mission to do."

Yang snapped out of her reverie of imagining her new bike, "Huh? Oh, yeah. Um...not long I think? If you guys want you can go ahead of me. I'll catch up."

"What is taking so long!? Are you guys still talking to these brutes?" Weiss came stomping in, followed by Blake. She looked around the shop, frowning.

"We'll be done really quick, don't worry about it! Besides, the other teams are around too to help right?" Yang waved her hand dismissively at the heiress.

"What! But what if we don't get credit for it! What if we all fail because we're wasting time here waiting for you to do something trivial!"

"What did you just say?" Yang turned and glared at Weiss.

"I said this is pointless and trivial and we're wasting our time here!" Weiss shouted. Yang launched her hand forward and caught her neck in an iron grip, her gauntlet locked and ready.

"Don't you DARE call this pointless. Trying to find a close friend I haven't spoken to in a while, and getting my bike is NOT pointless! Finding something we have such little information about is MORE pointless than this. Because do YOU know what it looks like?" Yang growled at Weiss, waiting for a reply. When she didn't receive one, Yang let her go and pushed her back slightly, "Exactly. So just shut up and let me do this. After this you can choose what to do." Yang turned her back to Weiss and focused back on Andrew, who was now talking to someone.

"Yes, si, indeed, sure. Here, Yang? Crasher." Andrew offered Yang the phone. After a brief glance, Yang took the phone from Andrew, and walked off to a corner to talk. Andrew looked up and took a sip from his thermos, grinning at the three ladies, "My ladies, may I offer some coffee? Tea? Cookies perhaps?" Ruby looked up quickly at the notion of free cookies.

"Pass." "No thank you sir." Blake and Weiss turned down the offer. Ruby looked at Andrew expectantly and simply stated:

"Cookies please?"

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"Howdy Tex. How's my fair blondie doin' this evenin'?" Yang heard the familiar accent over the radio. Only one man had an accent that sounded Asiatic and Southern at the same time.

Yang grinned at Crasher's speech quirks, or mannerisms as he would call it, "Sup Crasher? Slam into anything recently?"

"Nah, nothin' like that. Just been doin' work. Vale's number one courier service has lots of jobs ya'know?"

Yang leaned against the wall, listening carefully. She noticed a humming sound, like that of an engine. "You at work now?"

"Well, yeah, always at work. Gotta earn a livin' ya'know, since I couldn't get into Beacon. Still working for Star of Polaris, still travelin' around with packages."

"I'm still sorry about that...You know I didn'-" Yang nodded and began to apologize before Crasher cut her off.

"Not gonna hear it Yang. It was an accident and it was my fault. Don't think too hard about it. Anyways, I like this job. Get to travel everywhere. Though, half the packages they give me seems to be jinxed."

"Jinxed? What do you mean? Actually, you in town today?"

"Yeah, I'm in town. Going down Lichtinhere I think? If you're up for it, let's go to that corner cafe on Lichtinhere and uh...Jackson. All sorts of stories to tell, and I'm a day or two early for my delivery. Also, when I say jinxed I mean bad things happen all the time. Guess it comes with the number."

"Awesome, I'll meet you there. But, what's your number? It isn't something stupid like triple six right?" Yang laughed as she twirled the phone's wiring. She laughs as Ruby devours all of Andrew's cookies, while the young man stares aghast.

"It ain't that funny, trust me. My number's thirteen. Everyone's got a bag with red colored stars on 'em you know? I got thirteen of them because I was the thirteenth of all the new recruits to be selected...Uh...Yang? You there blondie?"

Yang's jaw dropped and she went silent for almost a minute.

"Earth to my darling little dragon, what'sup?"

"Sorry, hey I'll meet up with you there alright? Think you can be there in an hour or so?"

"Yeah, I'm actually on the Highway right now. I'll be there after I check in at the company checkpoint." Yang heard the engine rev softly in the background.

"Sure, I'll talk to you then. Crasher, over 'n out." Yang put the phone back into its place and looked at the group.

"My dear Yang, I had no idea your sister could go through this many cookies in one sitting. It's truly terrifying." Andrew remarked as he pulled away the empty plate.

"Yeah, I dunno about that. Hey, when can you get my bike ready to go? Now?" Andrew looked at bike the rest of his crew wheeled out earlier.

"Aye, if that's what you want. What did Crasher say? He in town? I mean, he did kick me off the phone as soon as he heard you were here."

"Yeah, and more importantly..." Yang looked at the group, "We've got a lead for the package."

That caught the team's attention, and a series of what's.

"What do you mean we have a lead?" Ruby asks as Yang helps prep the bike.

"Thirteen red stars. Ruby, I want you to come with me, we're gonna go talk to Crasher. Blake, Weiss, I want you two to overwatch us. I've got a really good feeling about this."

"Hold on, I'm not agreeing to any stupid plan till you tell us what you mean!" Weiss crosses her arms and glares at the energized blonde, earning a frustrated sigh from Yang.

"Alright, I just spoke to Crasher, who's a courier. And guess what his number is? Thirteen. And the stars for his company? Red. Happy? I think this is going to work for us." Yang climbed onto the motorcycle, gesturing for Ruby to get on as well. "We'll go talk to him and see if it is true or not."

"Why not all of us? I don't see why we should just split up. Not to mention, can we even trust this guy? "

"Because I think he'd flip out if he had to meet two other women outside of my sister and I without the proper time to get fancy."

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Roman Torchwick stood near the ledge of the tower the Organization was using as an observation post while his minions prepared the airship. He watched the highway carefully, eyeing each motorist that passed by. It was the beginning of evening, and there were certainly less vehicles than there were earlier. He looked up as Crimson handed him a phone. Roman took it raised it to his ear, "Well now, what have you got for me?"

"I've found what you were looking for. The package you couldn't steal in Serjeva? It's being delivered somewhere." Junior's gruff voice came from the phone.

"And where is that Junior?" Roman narrowed his eyes.

"Before that, my fee?" Roman rolled his eyes and snapped for Crimson. She produced a laptop and typed some things onto it.

"It's being transferred now. Continue?"

"Courier thirteen from Star of Polaris Courier Service. He's in town and he's got the package. That being said, he'll be on the highway, if not already on the highway."

"Are you sure about that Junior?" Roman looked at the highway again, he spotted a single black and red motorcycle roaring down the road. The man on it carried a messenger bag with the Star of Polaris emblem emblazoned on it.

"My sources don't lie. Black and red bike, long coat with the courier emblem on it. He's going to be hard to miss. Just so we're clear, you know what the package is right?"

"Thank you Junior your services have been fulfilled. We'll contact you if we need anything else." Roman snapped the phone close and ended the call. "Secure the package. We'll need it for our plan." Roman looked behind him at the rest of the city and grinned, "Soon. Very soon. And then Vale will experience quite a fireworks show." Roman turned and boarded the readied airship, waving off the rest of the suited minions to fulfill their orders.

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Notes:

Yes? No? Maybe? I haven't written in ages and I feel as though I could use some practice. Well, this is it. I know I need work, so any recommendations or tips or criticism would be cool. Flames? Maaayyybee not.

Also, I acknowledge that there might not be a "Southern" or "Asian" in the universe, but bear with me; it's the best way I could come up with describing things. I think this may extend to other areas.

There is one note about the OCs I'll be using. Will they appear a lot? Perhaps so. This story is not entirely focused on team RWBY (but that doesn't mean they'll be taking a side seat.) How many OCs will I use? I cannot say, but I doubt the main OCs will be more than seven. While I would open the floor to having more, I would much rather have a few and develop them into living characters. Not Mary Sues that are one trick ponies and flawless, but people who are actually (hopefully at least somewhat) interesting to read about.

Edit: Did a minor bit of editing. Grammar, spelling, consistency. Added small introduction.

_Encyclopedia:_

_Courier Service: Despite technology advancing to it's current state, the use of a courier service is still extremely popular. Indeed, it may be easier to send things via mass parcel deliver such as the postal service; but some people are willing to pay higher for a more secure deliver. Enter courier services. These men and women from varying companies carry goods around the world for a fee. Couriers are paid a commission when they first receive the mission. To prevent them from running away with the package, the person who is receiving the package (usually someone alerted in advance) pays the rest. There have been instances where couriers have stolen packages, but the enforcement force for couriers (other couriers) are extremely effective at recovery. Notable examples of excellent courier services include Star of Polaris, Wind of Velar, and Box Droppers. _


	2. Part Two: Crashing Thirteen

Disclaimer: Don't own anything RWBY, but I claim ownership of any original materials used in this story.

Notes: Here we go again. Maybe we should get some action in here?

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**Chapter One: Thirteen**

Part Two: Crashing Thirteen

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Jaune Arc sighed as he got back onto his feet for the umpteenth time. Lie Ren returned to his side of the impromptu ring they had scrawled onto the roof of the building. He looked to the side, where a smiling Nora Valkyrie was encouraging the two to keep sparing and Pyrrha Nikos kept overwatch on the highway. After speaking with team RWBY at the locker, Weiss had managed to convince their team to keep over watch and work together. How could Jaune say no to her after all, his charms probably worked. Probably. Jaune raised his fists again to start the next around.

After several blows from Ren, Jaune ended up on the floor again. This time, Ren offered him a hand up, which he gladly took. "You need to work on your stance. Watch, try this. You want to keep stability, but not have too much rigidity. A fine balance."

"Yeah, okay, but I'm not that great at balance..."

"You'll be fine, it's not something someone picks up immediately after all. Okay? Ready? Let's try that again." Ren raised his fists for the next round.

"Maybe you should try more defensive styles? It would suit you more I feel." Pyrrha looked behind her to see Jaune get tossed out of the ring again. She smiled slightly at him; despite being one of their poorer fighters he was extraordinarily persistent.

"Yeah, maybe..." Jaune was about to raise his fists to try something else when his phone rang. He raised his hand to call for a hold and answered it, "Heeelllo? Jaune speaking."

"Jaune! We've got good news! We know who and what we're looking for!" Ruby yelled into the phone. Jaune winced and put the phone on speaker for the rest of the team. The group gathered around their leader to hear Ruby out.

"What do you mean Ruby? What have you found?" Jaune stuttered out slowly.

"Look for a guy on a red bike, he's got what we need. He should be on his way to Lichtinhere." An airship blew past them immediately after Ruby said that, heading towards the highway. Pyrrha ran over to look at the highway. The airship had opened the side doors and began following the single motorcycle on the highway. She looked through her rifle sight and watched as the airship rake the road with gunfire, targeting the red bike.

"Jaune! Problem!" She called out and pointed to the road. "We have to go help him!"

"Gotcha, Nora! Ren! Uh...find a way to stop that airship! Pyrrha, follow me! We have to get to Lichtinhere's exit!" Nora saluted and Ren nodded as the two leaped off the five story high building to intercept the gunship heading their way.

"Remember Jaune, the trick is to use your aura when you jump so you don't break your legs. We practiced this." Pyrrha reassured him as they prepared to leap off the building and head the opposite direction.

"Y-yeah, gotcha. Ready to go." Jaune hesitantly look a step forward. Pyrrha blew past him and leapt off, secretly giving him a nudge to go. "Oh god I'm so going to regret this..." Jaune jumped off to follow Pyrrha.

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"Nora. Have you thought about how to deal with this?" Ren looked at the energy incarnate standing next to him. She had been reloading her grenade launcher with red shells instead of pink. Nora grinned at him and snapped the revolving chamber closed.

"Yep! We just have to knock it down right?" Nora grinned and got into her firing stance. Ren sighed and pulled out his machine pistols, "I could throw you up there to take it over."

"I don't think that would work. It's not a grimm." Ren watched the biker and his pursuers charging at them. The bike turned and screeched to a halt next to Nora, kicking up some smoke from the hard stop.

"Howdy ya'll. I take it since ya' haven't blown me away with that monster ya'll are friendly?" The courier pulled his goggles down over long red scarf. Nora and Ren nodded as the two immediately opened fire on the airship, pelting it with bullets and grenade shots. The biker pulled the rectangular box off his back and gave it a hard smack, transforming it into a .338 caliber rifle. The airship took a strafing run, causing Nora and Ren to roll out of the way. The ship turned to hover and deploy ropes, dropping off black suited minions with axes.

"Nora, can you take out the gunship?" Ren readied into his fighting stance. Nora reloaded, sliding silver armor piercing frag rounds into the launcher.

"I can now!" Nora laughed and raised the grenade launcher again, opening fire on the hovering gunship. The third or fourth round penetrated the thick skin of the airship and caused a small explosion, disorienting the craft. One of the unlucky minions fell off the rope and onto the road due to the shaking motion. It was at this point the leader of the minions stepped forth. Unlike the others he wore combat armor and had a riot shield and a double headed axe.

"We've got no qualms with the two of you. Courier thirteen, hand over the package from Serjeva. We'll let you go if you do."

"Ya'll seriously think that's going to work?" Thirteen called back as he slid a magazine in place, along with a rifle scope. "Get outta the way, Star of Polaris doesn't take kindly to robbing couriers."

"We won't say it again, so if you aren't going to hand it over..." The armored man gestured forward and the twenty or so minions charged the three. Thirteen raised the rifle, his gauntlets hydraulically locking to steady his aim, and fired into the group. The round nailed the lead minion in the chest and floored him immediately. The gunship lifted itself up and gained some altitude to continue strafing. Nora pelted the gunship with more APHE rounds, attempting to at least deter it from its mission.

"Never got yer name good man, Welkin Fenrir. Call me Crasher or Welks." Welkin said as he kneeled and fired again.

"Lie Ren, that's Nora Valkyrie. We're here to help, assuming you're the one who's friends with Ruby." Ren continued to wait for the minions to get closer.

"Yep, you bet." Welkin replied and stood, reading the use the sniper rifle as a bat. The first minion to reach the two was subsequently batted away with the rifle stock, knocking him unconscious. Ren entered the melee punching and kicking, using his aura to amplify his strikes.

"I don't think your rifle would do any good here." He called out as he palm striked a minion who unfortunately got too close. Welkin deflected an axe strike and shoulder tackled the offending minion. The minion stumbled back as he put the rifle onto the hard back holster. He slammed his fists together and the red metal gauntlets released and extended into what looked like hydraulic power fists. "Oh no, you too?"

"Why not?" Welkin called over the throng and slammed the gauntlet into the closest minion. The punch impacted hard into his chest, and then extended hydraulically to add more force. Unfortunately for the poor mook, the force was enough to probably crush his ribcage in right around. A small amount of electricity made his body shudder slightly.

"As long as it doesn't start shooting shotgun slugs." Ren jumped over a mook and kicked him in the back. The gunship fired into the melee, forcing the two to dive out of the way.

"Gotcha!" Nora called out and fired a single precision round into the engine block. The gunship exploded into flames and began spiraling out of control. It slammed into the ground behind the minion's leader, engine winding down and secondary explosions popping every so often.

"Good shot ma'am! Let's clean up before the cops can get here." Welkin called out and punched out another minion. The minion leader stepped forward and shield bashed him, sending him flying back towards the motorcycle.

Ren sprang into action and attempted to deliver several hard strikes, but the leader's reaction time allowed him to block most of them with his shield. He too bowled the lighter fighter away with the shield. "Oof, that shield." Ren muttered as he got up from next to Welkin.

"Tell me about it. Get his flank." Welkin pointed to the left and charged at the leader. Nora had managed to blow away any other minion that was still around. Welkin slammed his greave into the ground and the locks planted themselves into the ground, enhancing his stability.

"You done goofed son!" The armored man raised his axe and drove it down onto Welkin's head. Welkin smacked the axe out of the way and threw a hydraulic punch. The shield deflected the punch and the leader once again tried to bowl him away with the shield. Welkin managed to block and stay his ground, raising his fists like a boxer would. The two exchanged blows repeatedly, pounding on each other's armor or guard. Ren moved carefully behind the armored foe while Welkin brawled it out with him (the axe and shield discarded after a few blows.) Ren ran and punched the armored man forward towards Welkin, who responded by slamming his fist hard into the surprised fighter. Welkin's fist extended hydraulically and sent the bigger man sailing towards the wrecked airship.

Ren checked the mix of minions. He had managed to use his aura to stun and disable many of them, but there were a few that looked beyond saving. Ren sighed and walked over to the other two, who were putting away their gear.

"Regret it?" Welkin looked at Ren as he turned the rifle back into its rectangular block. Welkin walked over to nudge a dying man with his boot.

"Well. They tried to kill us. I-" Welkin shook his head.

"Trying to justify it only makes it worse...Believe me." Welkin put a hand on Ren's shoulder. "I got an appointment to make, and a report to file." He stated as he walked to the bike.

"So you're okay with just killing people? Doesn't that make you less than a monster."

Welkin stayed quiet for a bit a got back onto his bike, "I'm not okay with it. I guess it's more like I've been desensitized to it..." Welkin heard police sirens in the distance approaching, "You two should get out of here. If you want to talk I'll be at the cafe on Lichtinhere."

Nora put a hand on Ren's shoulder and gestured for them to go. The two of them ran to regroup with Pyrrha and Jaune to discuss their next plan. It was later when they were walking to the meeting point that Nora remembered something: "Hey, wait, weren't we supposed to take something from him?"

Ren could only facepalm.

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Yang parked the bike and looked up to where Blake and Weiss were keeping watch. Ruby got off the back as Yang turned off the dust engine. El Helaina. This was the cafe that Welkin always went to. Yang fixed her messy hair with a quick brush down and waited while Ruby looked around. They were in the fancier part of the commercial district. Bright lights and open store fronts lined the large avenue. Despite being late, there were still a fair amount of people browsing stores and milling about. In the corner there was a violinist performing for anyone willing to listen or donate.

"I thought the commercial district was run down and old..." Ruby muttered as she scanned the area .

"Not this part of town. You're probably thinking the industrial district. Here, it's alll about the night life." Yang grinned as she stared at the Star of Polaris courier checkpoint across the street. The office had a fair amount of traffic going in and out. Yang looked down the street to see Welkin coming their way. She waved him down and he stopped in the parking spot next to hers.

"I apologize if I kept you ladies waiting. Had a run in with these suited jerks..." Welkin climbed off the bike and pulled the goggles down to his neck.

"Hey Crasher, glad to see you still have the scarf and goggles." Yang nodded at the ballistic goggles and red scarf.

"Of course, I ain't the type to discard such fine gifts bestowed upon me." Welkin opened his arms as an invitation to a hug, but Yang simply punched him in the chest, "Oof, alright. I'll take that."

Yang laughed and hugged the young man tightly, "It's so good to see you. Been a while since Signal. Oh, right, this is my sister, Ruby. Say hi Ruby!" Ruby nodded and offered a handshake. Ruby took a good look at Yang's friend. He had short cut, spikey red hair, and was fairly tall and had some bulk. He wore heavy gauntlets in dark red steel, as well as matching greaves and boots. Welkin wore a double sided army coat that was lengthened to his knees. On one side it was black with red trim, the other side was an urban camo pattern. His left shoulder was armored about as much as the gauntlets, most likely for tackling. He didn't look old, but he looked weathered from travel. The other notable features were his dull blue eyes and the long red scarf and army goggles.

"Nice to meet you..uh...Crasher."

Welkin shook her hand gently and bowed politely, "Well ma'am, it's an honor to meet the younger sister of the dragon. I'm Welkin Fenrir, but I guess Crasher also works. I believe I have the honor of thanking you as well." Ruby raised an eyebrow in confusion. "It was you who sent Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie to give me a hand I believe? I am indebted to you."

"O-oh! No problem! I thought you could use some help. What's that on your hands?" Ruby gestured at the imposing gauntlets.

"These? Vermillion Blitz. Made it at Signal around the same time your sister made hers. I don't think we ever figured out who was the better brawler." Welkin tapped the gauntlets.

"Please, I go to Beacon. We all know the superior one here." Yang joked and punched Welkin again lightly.

"You make it sound like you beat me down. Anyways, why are we just standin' on the street for? Com'on, dyin' for some pumpkin pie and some coffee. I'll treat ya'll." Welkin waved his hand and opened the door for the two, who nodded and followed him inside to talk some more.

"So what's courier service like?" Yang sat down at a booth and flipped through the menu.

"Dull. Well, not for me really. Remember how I said I was jinxed as all hell? Yeah, it happened again. Lucky number thirteen gets alllll the dangerous jobs." Welkin patted the messenger bag and ordered some food. "Though I get to go everywhere. Just got here from Serjeva."

"Oh? Got a package to deliver here?" Yang put in an order, along with Ruby.

"Aye, two as a matter of fact. Both of them to...I can't say actually. I was expecting to get attacked for one to be honest, it was in the mission message." Welkin tapped his cheek with a finger. "And if you would like to see my weapons you could simply ask. I won't bite your head off." He looked at Ruby.

"H-huh? You're okay with it?" Ruby stared at the older man. "Can I? Oh my gosh I love seeing new things!" Welkin nodded and pulled off the gauntlets after putting them into their battle ready state. He also pulled off the sniper rifle and placed it in front of Ruby.

"I didn't know your sister had a thing for weapons."

"There's a lot of weird things about her. Like how many cookies she can devour." Yang put an arm around Ruby's neck and gave a thumbs up while grinning. "Anyways, how are you jinxed? You get attacked a lot?"

"Yeah well, there's that. But things just go wrong for me. I once had to deliver a package through a storm." Welkin grinned as he leaned back in the booth.

"That doesn't sound so bad." Yang raised an eyebrow and taunted, "Little baby still afraid of water?"

"I certainly wasn't expecting it. Weather forecast the day I left said it was gonna be sunny and shiny..." Welkin continued the story, with gestures and comedic emphasis.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Meanwhile, Blake and Weiss had come down from their overwatch position to the street. It had gotten dull, and Weiss had become impatient.

"Hey! Why are they talking to him. I thought she said we had a lead!" Weiss crossed her arms, clearly annoyed by how relaxed the group was. "If he has it why don't we just go and take it!" Blake shrugged and followed behind Weiss as she stormed to the cafe. Just then, they ran into team JNPR.

"Hey there ladies!~ Didn't expect to find you two here." Jaune waved to them, trying to act smooth as usual.

"Drop it vomit-boy. We're here to get that package and finish this mission." Weiss pointed at the three talking inside the cafe. Jaune was about to speak when Cardin's voice called out.

"Hehe, we were about to do the same. Thanks for leading us here losers." Cardin and the rest of team CRDL shoved past the two to get into the cafe.

"Hey! Wait!" Weiss began and the group hustled in.

Welkin had finished his story and was sipping some coffee while Yang talked about life at Beacon. He looked up to see Cardin coming his way. He raised a hand to pause Yang, who stopped and looked up.

"You the punk they call thirteen?" Cardin started and loomed over Welkin.

"Depends on who you are." Welkin put the mug of coffee onto the saucer. "You come in peace, I'm yer friend. You come for a fight, let's take this outside. I'd rather not wreck my favorite cafe in town."

"You've got a package I want. Give it here."

"Now ya'll understand as a courier I can't just let that happen. Thirty plus deliveries, ain't had a failure or theft yet. Gotta keep my record clean."

"Look punk, I'm not gonna ask again. Hand it over before I smash your face in." Cardin grabbed Welkin's shirt. Welkin brushed off Cardin's grip and got up. He pulled off his jacket and dusted the red dress shirt off.

"Rule one. Don't touch me." Welkin stared down the bully and shoved him back. "Rule two. Don't make threats when I'm trying to entertain people I haven't seen in ages. Got it? Now why don't you scurry off outside 'fore I floor you and embarrass you."

Cardin didn't take the rejection lightly. He shot a meaty fist to try and punch out the courier in one go. The blow struck Welkin in the face, causing a nasty crack. However, instead of being floored the seventeen year old fixed his posture and cracked his neck, as if inconvenienced. Welkin's aura crackled slightly and the bruise healed itself slowly. He cracked his neck and winded his arm back slowly. The fist shot forward like a lightning bolt and crashed hard into Cardin's face, sending the big bully reeling back and onto the floor, horribly dazed.

"Good hit. But you're out of your league when it comes to punching." Welkin blew on his fist and rubbed the healing bruise. He sat back down as Yang started laughing. Jaune, Pyrrha, and the others could only stare in horror as the biggest, and arguably most durable man of all the people at Beacon, was floored. Team CRDL quickly grabbed their leader and dragged their fallen leader out and ran for it.

"HEY! No fighting in here! That means you too Crasher!" The owner of the cafe called out, causing Welkin to flinch and grin meekly. He waved in acknowledgement and took another sip from his coffee.

"I dunno, with a punch like that, how come you didn't get into Beacon?" Ruby looked curiously at the courier. The rest had crowded around the table.

"Dunno. Doesn't matter. I'm sure they had their reasons." Welkin dropped the subject immediately.

"Let's not go into that. Anyways, Welks, I need one of the packages you're carrying. The one to Ozpin." Yang helped brush off the question away. Welkin raised an eyebrow and dug into the messenger bag. He produced two things, a small brown package and a slightly larger metal case.

"They're both for him, dunno which is which. I can tell you this one was from Serjeva," Welkin tapped the metal case, "And this one I picked up when I entered Vale."

"I guess we'll take both to him." Welkin sighed visibly at this.

"Listen Yang, as much as I want to give it to you guys and help ya'll out, I just can't do that. My reputation's at risk ya'know...And besides, why do you need it?"

"We need it for a mission. We can't fail it. Comon, it's important!"

"Ugh, Yang just take it from him!" Weiss grew frustrated with Welkin's pride.

"That ain't fair ma'am. I can't fight Yang, she'd beat me silly." Welkin sighed. He put the mug down and looked up to stare into Ruby's puppy dog eyes. "Urgh...please don't do that to me." Ruby stared into his soul. "Alright, alright, stop with the stare. There's one condition though, we'll go together."

XxXxXxXxXxX

Torchwick lit another cigar and took a breath slowly. "Say that again?" He looked at the minion standing near the table filled with guests.

"Sir, the courier got away. Two people intervened and helped him out." The masked man reported.

"It was supposed to be easy. Just a simple take the package. Like candy from a baby. But you come back to me without a package and a platoon of men injured or dead? As well as a crashed airship. As well as the cops investigating this?" Roman tapped the cigar against an ash tray.

"Y-yes sir. Sorry sir."

"I don't suppose you have a good excuse either. Get out." The masked minion turned and hurried out. Torchwick looked at the guests at the table. "I do apologize my friends that you had to overhear such a predicament."

"You should have sent your girl. She would have gotten it easily." A camo wearing young man said. "The world won't end itself if all you use are worthless minions."

"Yes, yes, of course. This only delays things, Christopher. The plan will still proceed. Almost everything is in order. We just need a trigger and for your men to be ready. The device will be secured, I assure you."

"This deal is looking more and more sketchy Torchwick. I do hope you and your company will deliver." Christopher leaned back into his chair.

"They will. If you would Crimson, contact Junior for me. We'll need some more information. Christopher, I believe you have a shipment at Forever Fall to "repossess." Torchwick tapped his cane on the floor and stared out the window from their tower as everyone dismissed themselves.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Notes:

A little longer than last time I think. This is therapeutic for me and gives me a chance to relax from the other college papers I have to do. I haven't actually figured out how long this will be. I hope the action is solid and it's generally interesting in some way. If it's not, I'll need to figure out how to make it work. Yes, there's an OCs in this. No, they won't become a new team like team RWBYW or whatever. I'm hoping to keep them related to each other, but separate.

I also could use some feedback on the character of Welkin "Crasher" Fenrir. I'll be honest that I wasn't sure where I was going to go at first. I wanted someone cheerful who would have fun kicking ass and taking names, but knew the consequences of what fighting men was like. If anyone's curious he's indeed the same age as Yang and the other older members of JNPR and RWBY, as he went to Signal with Yang. His weapons are a modified L96 sniper rifle in .338 lapua and Vermilion Blitz, which is a pair of power fists that can extend and punch hydraulically. Think Cherno Alpha's fists from Pacific Rim, complete with the electricity power. And yes, he likes red and black. How unoriginal right?

Once again, thanks for reading! If it's any good lemme know.

_Encyclopedia Entry:_

_Welkin "Crasher" Fenrir. Age: 18. Sex: Male. Hair Color: Red. Eye color: Blue._

_Height: Six Feet One Inch. Weight: 210 Pounds._

_Bio: The third son of five, Welkin grew up in a low to middle income family. His parents, a nurse and a professional cook, lived humbly and taught the sons to live virtuously. Welkin grew up running errands as a delivery boy for his father's restaurant to help his dad with his other siblings. While he was never extraordinary at grammar school, and not truly physically fit due to his huge stature, he was great in a fight. A teacher at his grammar school noticed this and recommended he go to Signal after grammar school. Welkin accepted immediately, and was the only son to actually go to combat school. _

_At Signal, he developed a combat skills similar to that of a heavy weight boxer. He grew used to simply punching his way through enemies, applying raw, brute force to any situation as a solution. During his time there, he was often joked as being the slowest (which he most likely was,) and made it his personal creed to know how to deal with flighty fighters. The nicknames and jokes ended when Welkin fought and won against two of the fastest fighters in his class. He earned respect by delivering sheer brutal strength. His time at Signal was characterized with him sparring many of the other brawler type fighters, learning how to counter speed with his weight. It's notable that he's won against most brawlers at least once, but has yet to beat Yang._

_Welkin's time at Signal abruptly ended when an accident occurred. He was later sent for rehabilitation and joined the Star of Polaris Courier Service as a courier. Upon passing Courier training, his mentor awarded him with the Frauline, a sleek new motorbike that incorporated the new Merlina engine. As courier thirteen, he had a reputation of always being early or on time with packages; a reputation that he credits his motorbike with. Presently, he works as a courier, with no real inclination of ever stopping._

_Fighting Style: Welkin is more grounded than other fighters. Whereas many of the fighters at Signal (not all) focused on speed and mobility, Welkin learned to move like a mountain. While not patient per say, he excels at countering speed and using overwhelming force to take down an opponent. His spring and hydraulically loaded gauntlets dish out the insane damage when they impact. Welkin also learned to be an excellent sharp shooter, as he acknowledges he would never be able to get close enough to pound a ranged combatant into the ground. _


	3. Part Three: Faustus' Box

Disclaimer: Like before, I don't own RWBY and any of their things. That strictly belongs to Rooster Teeth. That being said, I do claim originals.

Note: There may be some grammar errors. I apologize and I'll do my best to make sure there aren't any.

XxXxXxXxXxX

**Chapter One: Thirteen**

Part Three: Faustus' Box

XxXxXxXxXxxxX

The group decided that they should go immediately. They exchanged stories of their past with each other as they got to know "Crasher."

"So, why DO they call you 'Crasher' Welkin?" Jaune asked, thankfully being the first to question what the deal with the nickname was.

"Hooo boy. I'd rather not say now. T'ain't my finest moment." Welkin rubbed the back of his head as he leaned against the glass window on the transport airship. He patted the bike next to him with a hand and avoided eye contact.

"Awww, I could always tell them my side Welks. It's still great." Welkin paled at Yang's threat, eyes widened in horror. "It all started when we first met actually..." Yang had began when Welkin piped up.

"Alright alright. Lemme tell my side before you soil my name. So it was our first year at Signal. I was running late so I was running as fast as I could to get to class. Little did I know our lovely lady Yang was also late. And we were heading straight to an intersection in the halls. So soon enough we slammed into each other improbably hard. I swear we probably caused a fire with our aura." Welkin began his story. "What happened was I may have slammed into her in a place you obviously shouldn't be slamming into and got tangled a bit. Needless to say, Yang punched me across the hall and I crashed into all manners of stuff. You see, the hall I was running to also had a bunch of junk being moved out. Papers, files, cabinets, whatever. I end up being punched into the pile and crashed into my classroom."

Yang laughed at the memory while the others raised the eyebrows in disbelief. "Tangled? Is that what you want to call it. You tried to buffer the ram with your arms. I don't think groping counts as being tangled." The others glared at the courier.

"It was on accident! I thought I landed on a pillow! Besides you sent me flying!" Welkin fixed his jacket (which was now flipped to show the camouflage side) and straightened out his scarf.

"Don't lie now. You knew what you were doing. Besides, that punch didn't hurt too much. The brawl we had later was probably worse."

"Okay, now that I won't lie about. That was the most fun brawling ever at Signal. No rules, no holds bar, just punching and brute force. I think we both got sent to the infirmary after that..."

"Yeah it's where we got to know each other. By slinging insults. I think we got better just because we wanted to kill each other." Yang laughed and took a seat on the bike.

"So yeah, that's how I got the nickname Crasher. I slammed into everything and broke quite a lot of things. After we recovered from the infirmary from the second brawl, we both got landed with detention for months. Well, I got months. Thankfully I didn't get expelled for that."

Ruby stared at the two as the others smiled or joined in the laughter. Something was off, why didn't Yang ever mention Welkin before? Well, then again, she didn't really know any of Yang's crowd. Was there anything between the two? Probably not, they said it's been a while after all...or was it just a lie to hide something? No! No, Yang would definitely not be able to shut up about something like this.

"Are you okay there Ruby?" Blake put a hand on her leader's shoulder.

"Yeah. I'm just curious as to why I've never met him before..."

Blake shrugged and flipped a page in her small novella, "Some interesting people pass by us every day. It is just a matter of asking and talking." Ruby contemplated her words carefully as the airship docked at Beacon. The teams walked out first, followed by Welkin who was wheeling the bike with Yang still on it. They were about to discuss where to find Professor Ozpin when the group ran into said Professor and Professor Goodwitch.

"Teams JNPR and RWBY. Good evening. Courier thirteen, it is pleasant to see you are alive."

Welkin snapped his heels together and saluted. "Courier thirteen from Star of Polaris Courier Service sir! Packages are with me now sir."

"Very good. Mister Arc? Miss Rose? I believe you have something for me." Professor Ozpin looked at the two leaders as Welkin pulled out the two packages. "Here's a hint, it's the brown one." Ruby immediately snacked the smaller brown package from Welkin's hand.

"Mission complete, professor!" Ruby offered the package to Professor Ozpin, who opened it immediately.

"Ah yes, two packs of the best blends of coffee here in Vale. I had always wanted some more after sampling some elsewhere. And this other pack is for our good Professor Bartholomew Oobleck. His birthday is approaching quickly after all." Professor Ozpin packed away the two safely into his coat. "Miss Goodwitch, if you would kindly deal with our students. I have something important to discuss with our friendly courier here."

Professor Goodwitch nodded and gestured for the two teams to follow her to a classroom, while Professor Ozpin led Welkin away.

"Seeya later Crasher! Maybe we can hang out some more before you get another mission!" Yang called out as they seperated.

"Yeah! Nice meeting you! Take care!" Ruby waved as well. Welkin waved to the both of them and called out 'seeya!'

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Professor Ozpin and Welkin walked, and walked, and walked some more before finally turning into his office. Professor Ozpin gestured for Welkin to take a seat and looked around outside before having a seat at the head of the desk. "Mister Fenrir, I believe you have something from Serjeva for me." Welkin nodded and produced the metal case, placing it on the desk and turning it towards Ozpin. "Excellent. Are you aware of the contents?"

"No sir. Couriers don't ask what's the package, they just deliver. That being said I know it's not from Serjeva. The stamp is too worn out to be from there and the case has been handled before. Courier to courier."

"And how do you infer such things?" Ozpin looked over the case carefully. It was roughly the size of a small brief case. just large enough to carry a compact handgun.

"Couriers leave their marks on the package. Whether by accident or purpose. In this case, the handle had blood on it. Before I left I found out the courier who had brought it to Serjeva was near dead."

Professor Ozpin pulled the holographic keypad from the front of the case. "You understand that simply handling this package puts your life in danger correct?" He entered in the pass code for the package.

"Sir, if I wasn't aware of this, I wouldn't be a courier...that being said. What -is- inside it? A package like that risked the lives of several couriers, myself included. It must be something important. Also, the fee?" Welkin placed the payment unit onto the desk. Professor Ozpin opened a drawer and drew out a Lien card. He pushed the card into the insert slot and signed the digital screen with a stylus. The unit beeped and flashed green, and Ozpin drew the card out.

"Mister Fenrir, are you aware of the ancient tale of the box that brought upon evil to the world? The gods that had given mankind dust to fight the darkness had blessed the world with a box to contain all of the grimm and evil defeated by man. Civilization flourished afterwards because of the power of the box." Welkin stared at the case, attempting to find a connection between the story and the case. Professor Ozpin grinned and continued, "It was only when a man had made a mistake. A scholar of dust supposedly, curious as to the power of the container. His curiosity grew and turned him obsessed. His curiosity had gotten the best of him, and he broke the seal. The demons we conquered were once again released, and it reduced civilization to what it is now."

"What's a wonderfully happy story sir. But I fail to see the connection." Welkin piped up, "Unless of course you're going to tell me that I was carrying the Box of Faustus all this time."

Ozpin nodded and opened the case finally, "Oh no, the Box of Faustus was destroyed long ago. It would be juvenile to believe another one exists. That being said, Mister Fenrir, what you were delivering is something dangerous." Ozpin pulled a squarish block with dials and switches. The device hummed from the dust crystal giving it energy. He pulled the black crystal out of the power slot and the device died down. "Dangerous to both couriers and Vale. This device is not from here. Some associates of mine had discovered its existence. When they had ascertained the purpose of it, they immediately raided the facility at Alano to confiscate it. From there it was given to a man posing as a courier to deliver here for safe keepi-"

"Professor, in all honesty, what IS the device? I mean no disrespect but you have yet to tell me what it is." Professor Ozpin smiled at Welkin's frustration.

"It's a device that can connect to dust stores around a certain place. When properly tuned and charged, it can cause dust and crystals to overload within a large area." Ozpin placed the device into the case and rolled the black crystal in his hand. "So ask yourself, what sane man would build such a device? And why? And why would some bad men want it."

Welkin's eyes widened in horror. It was not simply a communication device. It was a trigger. Dust piles all around Vale would- Welkin's train of thought was cut out when Professor Ozpin continued, "Indeed. I suppose while it does not release all the evil in the world, this Box of Faustus will most certainly release the evil into Vale. I will discard of this crystal. It was not merely a power source after all..."

"Professor, are you sure you can keep it safe? Something like that...would it not be better to destroy it?"

"Indeed I have thought the very same Mister Fenrir. But the lives of my associates would have gone to waste had they wanted me to keep it safe. I believe they had reason to keep it, for what only time shall tell. Thank you again Mister Fenrir, your services have been appreciated. Speak to Professor Goodwitch when you're about to leave, she may have a task for you." Professor Ozpin turned around to look out the large window of his office. Welkin stood and saluted, before exiting the room, lost in thought. "Dear me, if only his record was not tarnished. He would have made an excellent student."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

After a brief congratulation from Professor Goodwitch (brief being she said well done and then scolded them for causing so much damage to the highway,) the teams retired to the cafeteria for a brief meal before heading off to bed. The weekend was here, so they had time to rest and relax instead of speaking all weekend chasing a package.

Over a mouthful of rice and curry, Yang said to the others, "I cannae belief we finished so fast."

"Don't talk with your mouthful you beast." Weiss scolded Yang, who swallowed and laughed.

"Indeed. But Yang does have a point. I had thought the mission would be significantly harder. I believe it would be safe to thank luck, despite how fickle it may be, for our good fortune." Pyrrha sipped a bit of stew.

"Yeah! I mean, what were the odds that going to pick up a bike while in town would've led us right to the package in record time!" Ruby smiled gleefully.

"None of us were hurt as well," Jaune started, but caught the eye of Lie Ren who had a few bandages from the fight earlier on, "Well, uh, badly hurt. Actually, I'm curious, how DID that fight go Ren? Nora?"

Nora was too busy choking down a pile of flapjacks covered in sweet sap to answer, but Ren placed his chopsticks onto the bowl to being, "Well, after the two of you left, we climbed up onto the highway to see if we could stop them. We actually weren't sure how we were going to approach it until Nora opened fire on it..."

Nora put her fork down and immediately chimed in, "It was so badass! Like it was twenty to two and they had an airship. Stuff of legends I tell you! I mean, we started shooting at the airship while it chased down Welksy! It was like, boom boom! Bam! And then suddenly the thing stops to drop off some little dudes that were angry at us. Then Welksy pulls up all cool and the like and was like 'Sup. Friends? Cool.' and started shooting at the group! It was then that I ended up nailing the airship and made it run away 'cause the pilot became such a scaredy cat!" Nora jumped up and had appropriate gestures for each event.

"What she means is that the airship turned back away in order to shoot at us some more without her being able to hit it." Ren noted carefully as he took another bite of rice.

"Psssh, he didn't get far. I totally nailed the engine on that thing! It started like spinning then it went BOOOOOM! And like there were flames everywhere. And the leader came out and was total like 'I'm gonna kick yer ass.' But Ren and Welksy took care of him! Those gauntlets. You could hear a rib crack each time he punched someone."

"The shield was a problem. He hit us both with a good few times. Welkin healed up well enough I think. His aura seems to affect his regeneration."

"Yeah it's quite a 'shocker.' Right?" Yang grinned and as sawed into the piece of meat.

"Booooooo. That was so bad Yang." Ruby bit into a cookie, or rather, shoved a whole one into her mouth.

"I have to agree, that was horrible." Welkin walked by and placed a tray with his plate of curry and rice on the table next to Ren. "How are your wounds?" Welkin sat down next to him and pulled off the heavy gauntlets.

"Doing well enough. Just need a little rest." Ren smiled faintly at Welkin who pat him on the shoulder. "If you've got time, mind if we talk later?" The courier gave a thumbs up and buried his spoon into the dish, mixing it around.

"If I may ask, what did you and Professor Ozpin talk about?" Welkin looked up across at Pyrrha.

"Work related things, nothing you all need to worry about. Hey this curry isn't bad. Better than whatever that junk at Signal was. Damn, I wouldn't mind more of this."

"Yeah I know! Food is so much better here!" Nora chimed in gleefully.

"Did you ask about what was inside the box?" Blake put down her novella and looked at the man wolfing down food.

"I did. Didn't say. He told me some ol' story and sent me on my way. Gotta talk to Professor Goodwitch, so if ya'll see her lemme know."

Blake raised an eyebrow, "So you weren't curious about what that package was and why those men attacked you for it?"

"Ma'am, a courier never asks what the package is. We just carry it around." Welkin said quickly. Blake was about to call him out on the lie, but Nora beat her to the punch.

"Aww com'on Welksy, you don't need to lie to us! What was inside it? It must've been something good. Like a diamond necklace! Or maybe something fancy like...like a new mug!" Nora leaned over Ren and looked at Welkin.

"How, I don't even- Welksy?" Welkin raised an eyebrow at the energy ball. "Might I suggest you eat a little less sugar? And I gotta eat. It's late and I've probably gotta get some rest before I head out tomorrow."

"Oh? You're leaving already?" Yang asked as she finished off her meal. "That didn't take long. Why don't you say hi to some of your friends here! it's the weekend, you probably have it off from courier duty anyways!"

"Couriers operate 24/7 Yang, I don't think there's vacation days for this occupation. Though that doesn't sound like a bad idea. Know where Mike and Sunny are? They should be going here."

"Ah, that I actually don't know. I think I saw Sunny hanging out with the school's equivalent of an honor society. Mike likes to hide in the library. I think Blake can point him out to you, can't you Blakey?~" Yang grinned at her bow-wearing partner. Blake rolled her eyes and nodded just slightly.

"Cool. Actually, I'm curious, what did ya'll do when ya got in? I heard there was some brutal test that ye' had to take?"

"I do not believe brutal would describe it. It was...different. A challenge to be solved not with brute force." Blake lowered the novella slightly, remembering the battle with the Nevermore and Scorpion. "It certainly was dangerous, don't get me wrong." Welkin held up his hand to pause her.

"Wait, ya'll are tellin' me that you all took down a Nevermore and a Death Stalker? Just the eight of ya?" The group exchanged yeahs and yeses. "Huh. Normally I'd call BS and ask someone else, but that look on your face tells me it was very much real. I don't get how ya'll could've done it. I saw a Nevermore once. It was HUGE."

"They're really big. And you have to fight smart to kill it because it's just so darn big! We ended up pinning the thing to the cliff side while Ruby chopped it's head off." Yang hugged Ruby proudly and smiled brightly. "And I think Jaune and the others sent the Death Stalker down the canyon."

"Yep! Hammered its own stinger into his head and then the bridge broke on it! It was so dangerous! Just thinking about it is great!" Nora cheered.

"Dubious." Welkin stated flatly.

"I would be inclined to agree. But it did happen. Pyrrha, Jaune, and I can vouch for it." Pyrrha and Jaune nodded to Ren. "It wasn't an easy fight."

"I'm...I don't know what to say. When I saw a Nevermore I ran the hell away. Speaking of which, never going through Forever Fall again. The thing chased me down a friggin canyon shooting feathers at me. Thank god I got an engine upgrade not long before."

"Oh yeah, speaking about your engine, you think I could borrow your bike so I can upgrade mine?" Yang looked at Welkin expectantly. Welkin thought for a moment and nodded.

"I don't see why not. You're not going to tear it in half right? If you're up for it, want to go tomorrow?" Welkin finished his meal and wiped his hands down.

"Sure! It's a date!" Yang gave a thumbs up and smiled brilliantly. Welkin nodded as Ruby sat flabbergasted. Did Yang just ask a guy out? What the hell?

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Professor Goodwitch knocked on Professor Ozpin's office door. She leaned against the door and opened it slightly, "Professor?"

"You know our deal Junior. Make it happen." Ozpin ended the call immediately and remained facing away from the door. "Professor Goodwitch, good evening. Is there an issue?"

"Good evening professor. I was coming to double check this order you wanted to put in. Did I interrupt something?" Ozpin turned around and smiled at his colleague.

"No. Your arrival was quite timely actually. I would like to add a package to the list of things we need delievered." Professor Ozpin produced a small package and the paper work, "The payment is included in this Lien card.

"Understood. I just need your signature here sir." Ozpin signed the forms elegantly. "Is there anything else you would like?"

"Hmm...Warn Welkin. Tell him Forever Fall is exceptionally lively these days...oh, and it's alright if the package doesn't get delivered. It's merely a birthday gift to a distant friend." Ozpin turned back around and sipped from his mug.

"I understand. By the way professor, what was in the package earlier?"

"What you can call the box of Faustus." Ozpin muttered quietly.

"I'm sorry? I did not hear that professor." Professor Goodwitch looked at him carefully, as she tucked the things to be delivered into a box for transport.

"Oh, nothing. Carry on, and have yourself a lovely evening Professor."

XxXxXxXxXxX

Notes: I need to slow down with working on this project, it's almost become an obsession for me. I just feel this urge to continue writing for some odd reason. I dream of the day I can actually finish this story, and turn some seemingly random OCs into something actually compelling and interesting.

Other things, I want to alternate between some action and some development. I don't like the idea of pure combat and action. As much fun as it sounds to write only action scenes and have blood and guts everywhere, there IS a plot to follow. I don't know if I make these plot development and character development parts too light hearted or too serious, but I hope I struck a decent balance. I think I'll probably slow down updates because I have papers due soon.

To clarify some things, the story about the Faustus Box is indeed Pandora's box. Except tweaked of course. And like every other magic macguffin, everyone's going to want to get their hands on it.

Thanks again for the time, and I hope it's been enjoyable to read.

_Encyclopedia Entry:_

_Faustus' Box. A near mythical device that once controlled the grimm and contained them, allowing man to prosper. It's existence was shrouded in mystery and wrapped in an enigma. Researchers and archaeologists have claimed to have found the magic device several times throughout history, however people have yet to concluded which is real. The box, black in color according to historic reports, was dust powered and charged with what researchers thing was an aura. Historically speaking, men who killed grimm with dusts forced the defeated foe into the box, essentially banishing it to oblivion. This device, lost in history, has become a widely sought after mystery; a part of the past when flourished. _


	4. Part Four: Friend and Foe

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, their universe, or characters and whatnot. I do claim ownership of original ideas.

Intro Note: I'd like to put some warnings, one being that this chapter is somewhat (if not significantly) darker than the previous chapter. Still, I hope it's well done and in good taste. Don't be expecting major gore or the like, it ain't that kind of a story. Enjoy!

XxXxXxXxX

**Chapter One: Thirteen**

Part Four: Friend and Foe

XxXxXxXxX

_Welkin shoved the door again. Stuck. Now how was he supposed to clean up the bloody training room if he couldn't get the cleaning supplies. He sighed and looked around at the wrecked dummies in the room; he could have simply left it there, someone else would've picked up. But he wasn't a child, he knew it was his responsibility. Welkin tried the handle again, to no results._

_"Ah screw it." Welkin readied his stance and swat kicked the door as hard as possible. The door swing hard open and the barricade of chairs and materials scattered everywhere inside. "What the hell?" Welkin took a quick step inside and look around the dark room. He reached over and flicked a switch several times, but the power didn't reply. He turned around, it was late and there wasn't anyone else left in the hall. He strode into the dark room to find the broom and other cleaning material._

_His eye caught a small container that glowed and hummed with dust. The glow illuminated the area around it. "What the hell is this? Glow in the dark paint?"_

_"Welkin, you there?" Welkin turned around and stepped outside to see Christopher Schultz. He wore a dusty camo jacket and jeans. Chris was the same age as Welkin, but he looked younger and was of smaller stature than him. He dusted off his short hair slightly and looked at his friend._

_"Yea, I'm right here tex." Chris walked over, examining the carnage that was left over._

_"You seemed to have been busy." Chris kicked the head of one of the robots, "Gonna clean up right?" _

_"Yeah but man, dude there was a barrel of glowing stuff in there. I don't know if I even wanna get close to that." Chris perked up and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I know bro, it's weird. I wonder what it is."_

_"Ya outta be careful. It's probably not something safe." Chris and Welkin looked at the glowing can._

_"Yeah probabl- Hey what's that humming noise?" Welkin stood up holding a broom._

_The hum grew louder and louder, and the room seemed to vibrate. The canister began producing a thumping sound, like a sledgehammer against the floor. "Get the fuck out!" Chris called and the two turned to run. The canister stopped humming and exploded, engulfing the two and destroying a large portion of the training hall._

XxXxXxXxX

Welkin shot up from the chair in the library he decided to crash in. He rubbed his temples and yawned, placing the dog-eared copy of Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus back onto the table. "The hell was that nonsense..." He ruffled his own hair and stood up, processing the memory.

He picked up his gear and left the library. He strolled across the grounds, breathing in the foggy morning air to replace the musky library oxygen. It was incredibly foggy and he tightened the scarf around his neck as well as the gauntlets around his hands. He was lost in his thoughts when he ran straight into a young lady. The lady tumbled to the ground and dropped her stack of books. "Oh no, I'm so sorry ma'am. I was not paying attention to where I was going." Welkin kneeled down and helped pick up some of the fallen library books when he got a good look at her. Black hair with red highlights, a winter camo fur-lined jacket, and a warm smile. 'Kind of adorable...' He thought.

"It's fine. It was my mist- Wait, Crasher?" She looked at him as she took the books from him. "It's me, Erin! Remember?"

"Holy mackeral, it IS you. It's been too long." Welkin hugged his friend tightly. "I didn't know you got accepted to Beacon."

"I actually wasn't. I just work at the library...But it's pleasant! It's better than not having a job." Eirin smiled warmly at her friend. "You look different. How did you turn from the brute that we partnered up in Signal with into this? You're huge!" Welkin finally registered that she was nearly a head and then some shorter than he.

"Well, it's what happens when I do courier work." He joked as he flexed and posed like a muscle model. "Get to see the world also. Hey I actually have to get running, I've gotta meet someone and head over to Ramirez's workshop. We can catch up some time later, sound good?" Welkin put a hand on her shoulder gently.

Erin nodded and grin, "Finally getting the moves on? I didn't know you had it in you."

"Well, sorta. And I have a job to do soon. I'll see you around okay?" Welkin waved and strolled off into the thick fog, looking for the entrance to the main building.

"Of course! Take care." Erin waved with a free hand and watched him disappear into the morning fog. She opened the door to the library and sat down at her desk, brushing her hair back slightly. She was about to enter some book information into the database when her phone rang. "He's here. He's going to get the package." She reported.

"Do you know where he's going?"

"Ramirez's mechanics shop. Biker Sharks."

"Good. Your fee will be delivered shortly. Stay on standby with your rifle, this is going to be big."

"Understood, thanks again...Junior." Erin ended the call and placed the phone back into her jacket pocket. She tapped a pen against her cheek and began writing.

XxXxXxXxX

Yang yawned and rolled off her bed...and feel a few feet into the floor. She grumbled a bit and pulled her face off the ground.

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of bed." Yang heard Blake joke. She growled and stood up and stretched.

"Ugh Blakey, that wasn't funny." She blinked a few times, "Where is everyone?"

"Ruby and Weiss are studying at the library. Or rather, Weiss is making Ruby study. It's almost eleven by the way." Blake laid back against the headboard, flipping through a novel.

"Haven't you finished that book already?" Blake asked as she went to clean up for the 'morning.'

"No, that was another novel." Yang returned from the restroom and looked at a messy section of Blake's bed. She reached down and fumbled around looking for something despite Blake's objections.

"HAH! I knew you were reading this stuff again. _Ninjas of Love._ Wait a minute. Volume FIVE? How many are there? Actually, how many have you read?"

Blake grumbled and snatched the novel away from her, "I would rather not say, and leave the number up to your imagination." She placed the book away and dusted off her yukata after getting off the bed.

"It's not a horrible thing to admit that you like reading porn."

"It's not porn! It's tastefully written romance."

"Right. 'He turned and discarded the tight shirt, revealing his sweat drenched body. His body was ready...'" Yang recited from memory. Blake looked at her in horror. "You talk in your sleep. I just heard that part."

"I-I do no such thing. Why don't yo-" Blake was about to ask how she knew what her favorite scene in the series was when there was a knock on the door. "We'll finish this later." She simply stated and walked over to peek out the door. "Ah, it looks like your 'date' got tired of waiting finally." Blake opened the door to let Welkin in. "Good afternoon Crasher."

"Ma'am. I apologize if I'm interrupting anything." Welkin bowed politely. "That being said, I would like to ask if Yang was awake yet. I got my order a while ago and I was gonna see if she was still up for taking my bike apart and turning it into a leviathan." Welkin couldn't help but avoid looking at Blake because, despite not being into girls like her, she was incredibly cute. The yukata didn't help.

"Sup Crasher? I'm ready to go!" Yang finished lacing up her boots and grabbed her scarf and goggles. "Just gotta go get my bike and we can be off." Welkin nodded and side stepped from the door so she could exit. "Also, Blakey, I know that scene because I read it while you were reading it. Oooh it was HOT!~" Yang waved and closed the door to a flabbergasted Blake and a slightly confused Welkin, "She reads smut."

"Oh..." Welkin followed as quickly as he could as they exited the main building to the storage garage. "You know, I don't know why I'm not surprised." Welkin stated as they boarded the air ship headed to the commercial district.

"What? Why do you say that." Yang adjusted her scarf as the air ship's pilot announced they were departing.

"S'always the quiet ones Yang." Yang punched him in the right arm lightly and the two shared a laugh.

XxXxXxXxX

Andrew Ramirez knelt by the red bike and tinkered with the dust powered engine, taking the entirety of the engine out for examination. He operated delicately and uttered soothing messages to the bike, as if he was handling a dying patient. "Yes my dear, it won't hurt. Smooth and easy..."

"Creep." Welkin stood behind Ramirez. The Latin man shook his head in disapproval.

"It takes great love to handle machines of this kind. In fact, this is not simply a machine Crasher. It is an art piece. A red and black with platinum statue and lines that flow like the cherubs of a famous artist!" The engine was placed onto a table right next to the engine from the Bumblebee. "Ah, so that's how it was. The Frauline's engine is hooked up quite differently..." Welkin waved his hand behind him and walked outside the hot machine shop to let Ramirez do his work. he walked next to Yang and offered her a bottle of soda he stole from Ramirez's fridge.

Yang took the bottle and took a sip from the cold beverage. "Is he done ogling the motorcycles and working yet?"

"We've been here maybe ten minutes, he'll be done in a bit." Welkin sipped his when several black vans parked in front of the machine shop. "Well, that's a bad sign as any." The doors opened and camo wearing soldiers spilled out, numbering in roughly twenty or so. "Very bad sign." Most of them had long batons of some kind, and a few had shields and compact sub-machine guns.

A man stepped out of the lead car and dusted off his camo jacket. "Long time no see hm? Welkin?" He grinned at the courier.

"...Chris? Chris that you? I thought you-"

"Died? No. I don't die so easily...in fact, it takes a lot more to kill me than my own concoctions." Chris tightened his gloves and gestured for the men to form a semicircle around the two. "You know why I'm here. Hand over the package and you and your girlfriend will live."

Welkin lifted a hand in a stop motion, "Hang on man, we can talk about this. I'm really glad to see you're alive."

"Drop the pleasantries Crasher. You know your own caring is a lie. You pretend to be a genuinely nice guy in order to take advantage of them." Chris called out, clenching his fists.

"What the hell are you talking about? You know me well enough to know they weren't lies or falsities. I don't lie to my comrades...unlike you! It's because of you that so much went wrong in our lives. You think I take advantage of people? Are you sure you're not talking about yourself? What did it take to get all your minions."

"Don't even go there. I worked hard for this! You kept pretending to care when I started not doing so well. You offered so many times for help but you were never there when you were needed Crasher. Enough of this nonsense, hand over the package and no one dies today." Chris held out his hand.

"Yeah? Here you go then." Crasher reached into the bag and winked at Yang. Yang pulled on her aviators and he threw two canisters into the air. The two burst loudly and produced a blindingly bright light, disorienting the unsuspecting minions. Yang launched herself into the air while Welkin charged right into the crowd. He grinned and reared up his right arm for a power punch. The blow connected with the first minion at the line and sent him spiraling into the van, bowling over two other soldiers. Welkin skid to a halt and locked himself in position with his greaves. Yang came sailing down from above and crashed into the melee, sending visible shockwaves into the crowd. "Crash and burn, right?"

Yang grinned while nodding back to Welkin, before launching herself forward into a disoriented minion, "Bet I can hurt more than you!" She slammed her fist and fired a round into the poor bastard she decided to target. The soldier flew away down the road.

"What are you idiots doing. Kill them both and take the package!" Chris yelled orders to the group. The soldiers ran at the two. One of them attempted an overhand swing at Welkin, who promptly deflected the shot with his left and punched him away with his hydraulic fist. The electricity from the fist torched the man's chest padding. Welkin turned and ran at Chris. He punched out a minion attempting to stop him on his run and skidded in front of Chris. The old friend of his was in shock at how close he had gotten when Welkin hard upper cut him and sent him flying. The power fist cracked his jaw and he flopped next to the lead car.

Chris sputtered something out and retreated into the car, which sped away as quickly as possible. "COME BACK HERE YOU COWARDLY SHIT." Welkin slammed his fists together, causing sparks to fly. He turned around to see Yang flying through the melee slamming fighters in the ground.

"Yeeeha!" Yang upper cut one with a shotgun punch and then launched herself onto another poor minion. Welkin called out a warning and she dived behind a van when one of the men carrying an smg opened fire on her. The bullet spray peppered the side of the van as another one joined in suppressing her. Welkin bowled into one of the firing soldiers and slammed his left elbow into him. He put him into a chokehold and punched him twice, once normally and the second time with a hydraulically powered fist. He dropped the body like a bag of rice and slammed his shock fist into the shield of the other. The other minion dropped his shield and shook his arm from the shock. He raised the SMG to open fire on the closer target when Yang fell on his head and dropkicked him. Welkin nodded to her and charged back into the melee while Yang bolted off.

XxXxXxXxX

The two managed to clean up the rest of the minions after some time, punching and kicking the rest of the rest into submission. The last man surrendered and agreed to drive his minions to the hospital in exchange for his life. Yang reloaded her Ember Celicas and Welkin reset Vermillion Blitz back to standby. He looked at Yang and grinned, offering a fist bump. "Crash and burn. Still works."

Yang laughed heartily and fist bumped him, "Never fails. Who was that guy by the way? Seemed like kind of an asshole."

"A friend of mine...or I guess was." Welkin looked down and rubbed his left arm slightly. "He used to be one of my closest friends...and I thought he died that night."

"That night...you mean at Signal?"

"Yeah. It's kind of sad. A part of me now wishes that he had actually died that night. So that I need not face him ever again. I don't know what changed. He used to have some semblance of honor inside him, and he was never much of a liar.." Welkin took a seat in the waiting room of the machine shop. The mechanics locked down the shop earlier due to the fighting, but they reopened up since then. Ramirez handed them both drinks and went back to work on the bikes.

"I'm sorry for what it's worth." Yang shook her head and put a hand on his shoulder, and then wrapped him in a headlock, "But things will look up in the end. I bet he's got his reasons and I bet we can knock the sense into him!"

"Ergh, your choking me." Welkin took a deep breath and laughed as she let go, "How in blazes do you stay upbeat all the time? Regardless. Good fight blondie. I wish we could do it more often."

"It's been a pleasure Crasher." Yang took a seat next to him, as the two proceeded to have idle chatter about motorcycles, crashes or 'accidents,' and whether or not a supercharged Merlina 2 engine could out power a Mustang 44.

XxXxXxXxX

Chris sat down heavily next to Junior at his club, acknowledging the bartender and the bearded man. The young twins skirted over to see what happened to him.

"Got your ass kicked didn't you." Junior asked as the bartender slid them both a whiskey blend.

"Mah jaw hurts so much." Melanie and Miltia stood behind Chris as he took a sip from the glass. He let out a cry and winced horribly. "Ugh, never letting Welkin punch me again." The twins giggled at that.

"And here I thought you were a lot faster than him." Melanie slapped him on the back. Chris shot up and yelped, "And I thought you were more durable."

"S-shut up. You try taking the blitz to the head." He took another drink. Junior grinned.

"So what's your next move. You lost quite a bunch of people to those two. And you didn't get the package. Also, he knows you're alive now." Junior asked as Miltia dabbed some medical salve onto Chris' face and jaw.

"Ugh, just touching it stings. Thanks Miltia. Next time I'm bringing more gun. Is Erin still around? I'm probably going to need her." Miltia and Melanie frowned at that.

"What, we're not good enough that you have to call that bookworm?" Melanie glared at Chris.

"No, it's more like I need someone subtle. And a high power rifle helps." Chris finished his drink and tapped for a refill. "Junior, I need you to give her some orders for me. Mean while you two...I've got something for you guys actually." Chris took another drink and contemplated for a moment. "I'm under the impression that White Fang is going to expose our position soon, and that Exodus is going to betray me. Torchwick is a man who doesn't simply want allies, he wants people to dispose. I want you two to assassinate the head of the White Fang. Junior can give you the details of it."

"You want us to assassinate the head of a political group fighting for Faunus?" Miltia asked, to which Chris nodded.

"Get rid of him. That will anger the Fangs to show their hand and react violently. When the police and military of Vale openly go to war with them, we can begin operating more conspicuously." Chris looked at Junior, who shook his head.

"You're an idiot thinking two girls can assassinate a friggin faunus general. He doesn't trust a single human, and for good reason." Junior waved his hand dismissively. "I'm not allowing you to take my two best fighters to go on a fool's errand."

"Then find someone who will. The faster he is gone the better it will be for Torchwick and I. You're intelligence Junior. Go find out how."

"I do not remember allying myself to you two. I only sell information." Junior crossed his arms and leaned forward on the bar counter. Melanie and Miltia looked between the boss and Chris.

"We'll help. Consider him dead." Melanie spoke up immediately. Chris smiled at the older, spunkier of the twins.

"No. You're not. And there will be no argument here." Melanie huffed and stormed off, with Miltia following after.

"I know you care about them, but you want this to succeed as much as any of us right?" Chris turned to look at the dance floor, rubbing the bandages that Miltia had put on him.

"I could hardly care. As long as at the end of the day they're alive and safe, yer damned mission is secondary." Junior stood up from his seat and pulled on his sunglasses. "If you're done, you can rest at guestroom A like usual. I've got information to file and feed." Chris nodded and raised his glass in a toast before downing the rest of the drink down, prepping himself for a long night.

XxXxXxXxX

_Welkin dragged himself out of the debris, holding onto his left arm. The explosion had sent the two of them flying, and several hundred pounds of debris ended up breaking his arm. He flopped forward, covered in dust and dirt when he realized something.. He held onto his side and looked at his hands and body, which was covered in blood and...that gunk. He felt his aura spark to life. The lightning coursed into him and he locked his gauntlets into a combat ready state. The armor on the left arm, damaged but usable, locked up as well to prevent it from falling apart._

_"Is anyone there? Anyone alive?!" He heard someone yell. He could smell their blood. Blood that so wanted to be in the air, or on his hands now. Welkin ran through the falling smoke and grabbed his first victim with his gauntlet._

_"Never better!" He laughed as the gauntlet crushed the man's windpipe. A janitor. How unfortunate for him. Welkin dropped his body as others spilled in, other students. Someone screamed at the body he had just dropped as he laughed maniacally. He jumped into the crowd and tore into the group..._

_Yang skidded to a halt. She had gone out to hang out with some friends and was on her way back to her dorm when she had heard the explosion. Curiosity over took her as it came from the training room area: no one was dumb enough to use live ordinance in there. She quickly ran over to the building and felt sick immediately. The stench of blood permeated the air, along with the nauseating feeling of an electrified air. She tripped over a body, one badly burnt by a lightning charge. Yang felt like running immediately when she saw that. She jogged over to the debris to look for the cause. "What the hell...?" Yang picked up a detonation chip. Weapons class had shown her they were used to trigger objects when properly wired. A bomb? Did someone really plant explosives here? Why? She stepped back when she landed on some glowing goop._

_Yang leaned down to examine the liquid when she heard the distinct THUMP CRACK of a weapon. Welkin. Was he fighting the person who caused it? Yang rushed off towards the screaming and stopped when she saw it was Welkin who had beaten one of the largest bullies at school down. "Welkin!"_

_Welkin turned around and dropped the older boy like a sack of potatoes, "Hey baby. Gotta say that voice is mighty fine." Yang stared at Welkin, what had come to him? Then she realized. His aura had spiked unnaturally, causing him to lose his sparkly eyes and gain one black and one silver eye. He had lost the polite rough charm, and had gained something almost...Grimm like._

_"Crasher, are you alright?" She raised her fists slowly in case he tried something. She was ready to pound him back into this world._

_"Mh, I'm alright. Now you really are pretty...why didn't I notice this before?" Welkin rotated his arm on the ball of his shoulder, clenching his hand into a fist again. "Why don't you come here and give me a hug? I don't bite."_

_"Man, you're one creepy dude when you're a demon." Welkin laughed and ran at Yang. She fired a slug at him to deter him, but he simply took the slug to the chest and fell like a rock. "OH no, I was totally not intending on doing that. Crasher!" Yang was about to run over when the youth picked himself up, looking even more pissed._

_"That wasn't very nice baby. I just wanted a hug. OH well, your blood will do." Welkin charged again, winding his fist back for a hard punch. Yang rose her arms to block the hydraulic punch in time, but the impact still sent her skidding back down the hall. She assessed the situation: Angry as all hell Welkin, tight hallway little room for maneuver, BIG HYDRAULIC FIST COMING HER WAY! Yang ducked down and tackled him down the same way he had taught her. Wrapping her arms around his waist she shoved hard and leapt over him as he fell. She quickly bolted down the hall to one of the open training halls. She had been thankful that people decided to clear out, rather than like her, run into the scene. Yang barred the doors to the room to give her some time._

_She jumped onto one of the overhanging bars that supported the building, over watching the door. Yang could hear Welkin's heavy running as his greaves thumped down the desolate hallway. The running stopped at the door, and the handle rattled a bit. Yang could feel her heart beat faster and faster, as the adrenaline from having to brawl with one of the heaviest brawlers was fairly intimidating. Signal allowed some spars, and she had fought him before, but to the death...it was something else._

_Yang was snapped out of her reverie when a metal fist slammed through the door. The fist went through the door again before a heavy foot slammed into it, sending the door and bar clattering away. "Come on out Blondie, I just want to admire your looks!" Welkin walked in, and Yang immediately jumped at him._

_He looked up when he heard her battle cry, and was immediately floored by her fist. Yang fire her shotgun fist and launched herself to the other side of the court. Welkin stood up, furious, "Always with the head eh? I know I always said I wanted to get 'a head' in life, but that's just something else." He spit out some blood at ran at the blonde haired fighter. _

_"Shut up! Just shut up!" Yang fired two shots at him before launching into the air to avoid the tackle. "Bring back Welkin, 'cause you ain't him!"_

_"Aww babe, I -am- Welkin." He laughed and slammed his right fist into hers to block it. He reached out with his left and grabbed her shoulder._

_"Really then? I'm sorry then." Yang stretched her sore right and slammed her fist into his bleeding left arm. The shotgun fired and exploded, almost severing his arm off. Welkin let go immediately and fell backwards, the lightning aura dimming out. Yang stepped back slightly and cocked her fist, ready to fire another shot. Welkin didn't say anything, just staring into the ceiling. His eye color had returned to some dull blue, a shadow of its former self. "Crasher..."_

_"I don't...I'm so sorry." Welkin stated before passing out from the blood loss. It was then several teachers stormed in along with medical crew to collect the two._

XxXxXxXxX

Yang jolted up, almost slamming her head into the ceiling. The rest of team RWBY were asleep in their respective beds. She rubbed her hands together, trying to process why her brain decided to show that memory now. The two had separated again, Welkin left for Forever Fall to deliver his next package while Yang returned to go to study in preparation for classes. A pang of guilt struck her as she remembered the time she almost severed his arm because he had gone mad. It had caused his expulsion from Signal, and almost execution were it not for the intervention of the Bureau of Intelligence. The Bureau had identified the substance after the chaos and noted it to be a highly illegal dust charged drug. In small amounts when in contact with humans, or even in the general vicinity, the drug could charge auras. The side effect however, was that most gained a primal instinct to spill blood with their stronger powers. The Bureau managed to get Welkin off the hook and into a reformation program, which turned him into a courier. The two exchanged letters during then, with each letter almost starting identically: 'I'm sorry for what I did...'

Yang dropped from the bed to get some water. Did nightmares or dreams really make a person sweat so much? Man, it sucked. When she heard a voice from behind her. "Couldn't sleep could you?" Blake was sitting up by a dim candle, reading Ninjas of Love again.

"Nah, I'm alright. Just need water." Yang waved her hand and smiled cheerfully.

"You talk in your sleep, and you twist and turn quite a lot. What were you dreaming of if you don't mind me asking?" Yang took a drink from her glass and looked at Blake.

"It was a dream, nothing more."

"Yang...I'd like to help you know."

"There isn't much to say. It was just a dream." Yang sat down next to Blake, who had put down the novel.

"Was it about Crasher?" Yang stared in disbelief, but then deducted Blake was just too good at reading people. She debated to just end the conversation, but figured Blake would probably never let it go as long as she knew there was a problem.

"Yeah. It was a memory of when he went berserk. I don't think you went to Signal, but there was this major accident that happened. He was caught in some blast full of illegal chems and went buck wild on the school..." Yang frowned. "He didn't kill anyone, amazingly enough, but he damaged people enough to turn them into cripples. That substance had turned him into a demon of what he is, and I'm having trouble looking at him as full reformed now."

"You didn't look like you had reservations when we were meeting him. In fact, you were quite excited to see him again." Blake pointed out, earning a nod from Yang.

"We only spoke in letters, and I was genuinely glad to see he wasn't as conflicted any more. But now I'm just worried it might resurface. That blood rage."

"How did he stop?"

"I stopped him. I almost severed his arm in the process too. I think he was running out of aura, which made it easier to take him down. But I still regret the fact I almost killed him."

"What is he to you Yang?"

"I dunno. It's complicated." Yang really didn't feel like answering that question.

"You sound as though you like him, from your actions." Blake decided to answer for her.

"I-you know, fine. I do like him. But so does many other people. For generally the same reasons you know? He's pretty nice, polite, and totally kickass to be around. It's not romantic." Yang added at the end of her sentence.

"So then I feel that you're just worried. You're worried that a good friend of yours might relapse into madness again. It's perfectly normal."

"Well yeah, I guess it is...I guess I'm just over thinking it. He'll be fine. Yeah. Definitely. If he can recover in a few years, I guess everything will be alright." Yang smiled at Blake, who returned the smile, "Aww Blakey, what would I do without you?~ Mire in my sadness and desperation?" She wrapped an arm around Blake's shoulders and gave a loose hug.

"I'd rather you be the energetic one of our team, rather than me." Blake grinned as Yang climbed back up top. Yang popped back down and stuck a tongue out at her.

"You don't have the SPUNK!" Yang almost yelled, before remembering the heiress across the way liked her beauty sleep. "Have a good rest Blake."

"Mhm, good night." Yang popped back down again.

"And that means you should probably stop reading your porn." Blake threw a spare pillow up, and heard it thump against Yang's head. "Oof."

XxXxXxXxX

Welkin breathed in the cold night air as he drove towards Forever Fall to catch a train to Alisteir. The motor bike engine roared through the night, only dying down to a hum when Welkin reached the city limits. Welkin turned to look at the wall surrounding the city, offering a safe haven for those that travel. Beyond it he could make the shining star of Beacon Academy. He smiled a bit at the memories he was able to make this time there. Sure as hell better than the day he got his rejection letter from there. 'Dear Mister Welkin Fenrir, in light of your outburst at Signal Academy, we at Beacon believe it is within our best interest, and yours, that you do not attend here. We regrettably inform you that you have been rejected from acceptance into Beacon..."

Yeah, yeah, he wasn't sure why he applied in the first place. He never got his degree from Signal (he was a junior when it happened, so he missed all of senior year,) and he was kind of sort of in jail-slash-rehabilitation. He pondered the fact as he readjusted his goggles. Maybe it was an attempt to redeem himself. Had he been accepted maybe he could've gone back to living a normal life instead of the unpredictable one as 'Courier Thirteen.' Maybe it was out of hubris, pride that said not even going temporarily berserk would stop him from getting to Beacon. Or maybe it was...No. It wasn't. They weren't even in a relationship. Getting to Beacon would have only confused the matter even more. Welkin straightened out his bike and revved; no sense in thinking too deep into a situation now, he had a job to do. The bike roared into a wheelie, and as the front wheel touched down on the road sped off towards Alisteir. Hopefully he'll be back soon...he certainly looked forward to it this time.

XxXxXxXxX

End of Chapter One: Thirteen

Next: Chapter Two: Death Four

XxXxXxXxX

Notes: Well that went certainly well I think. I hope I did the background stuff alright and it wasn't just a garbled mess. For those confused by how Welkin's arm is okay now, I'm just going to say this: Magic. Good? Cool. I need to practice writing dynamic fight scenes and whatnot, because although I can visualize the fight, I'd like some more detail in it.

Also, the reason I stuck "End of Chapter One: Thirteen" at the end is because I've decided to split the story into three major parts: beginning, middle, end. I also noticed that each chapter I write seems to get longer and longer, because I've so many ideas and I want to put them ALL down on paper (which is obviously impossible.) To solve this problem, I believe I will start writing chapters in two parts, an A side and B side. A side being for team RWBY and their exploits, and B side for the trials of Welkin and OCs. No, they won't be completely separated, as their stories will intertwine regularly. But I believe it'll make it easier to swallow considering 6000+ words is a rather long read. I'd like to avoid drowning people in text.

On that note, before I start on Chapter Two, I'll probably put out an "Interlude" chapter. The purpose of this is to tie the parts together (as I'll most likely be making a one month or so time skip,) and to show off conversations or things that didn't happen. For example, Ren asked to speak to Welkin earlier on, and I actually forgot to stick that entire conversation in somewhere. There's going to more character development than plot in the interlude chapter, and not everything will necessarily be in chronological order. I know I've been neglecting some characters of the cast, if not most of them, in favor of Yang, and I'm going to try and remedy that in the close future.

Thanks again for reading and or following along. I'd like to say I do appreciate the fact people at the least check this little project out. Feel free to write a review to point out errors or consistency problems. I'd actually greatly appreciate that because I can take the time in interlude chapters to bridge concepts or events.

_Encyclopedia Entry:_

_Biker Sharks: A joint venture run mainly by Andrew Ramirez and his crew. Originally a biker gang, the group decided to settle down with families and a life, opting out of the dangerous life of a bike. Ramirez, with some funding from Star of Polaris, opened up the Biker Sharks mechanics shop. They enjoy a variety of business, varying from other bikers who are interested in talking shop, or assisting couriers with their vehicles. They're fairly well known among engine heads, as they offer a variety of work for fair price (especially if a customer provides the parts.) _


	5. Interlude: That One Month

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, enough really said. I do claim ownership of original ideas though.

Intro Notes: So I decided to write an "interlude" section to separate the main "chapters" of the story. Part one was called Thirteen, and the next part is going to be Devil's Four. Originally, I had planned on putting several of these scenes into the actual chapters, but they sort of fell out in favor of others or just didn't fit at the time. Hopefully this ties up some of the story together, and builds some character to the cast. This interlude is also to set up for the next parts. That being said, please enjoy this interlude.

Also note there may be some inconsistencies. I'm almost certain I don't have any, but if there is it's probably something minor.

XxXxXxXxXxX

**Interlude: That One Month**

_The following stories occurred during or after parts one through four of Chapter One: Thirteen. These are a collection of mini-events, meetings, and general conversations that happened behind the scenes. There may not be a specific point at which they occur, but there may be mentions as to what happened before or after._

XxXxXxXxXxX

Moral Dilemma

Welkin stepped outside holding two cups of hot coffee and offered one to Ren, who graciously accepted it. The two were standing on a balcony near the cafeteria that had several lunch tables at. The group had just finished dinner, but the two decided to stay for a coffee rest outside while the others went to clean up.

"You wanted to talk I believe?" Welkin took a sip from his coffee as he stared out over the grounds of Beacon.

"I did. I know it shouldn't be a big deal, but I wanted to ask you. How...did you bring yourself to kill another man?" Welkin contemplated the question as Ren continued. "Aren't we as human beings supposed to help each other? Also, aren't you the same age as us? Should we really be doing this?"

"It is not a small deal. Understand that, the death of a person by your hand is never a small thing. It is something to be thought on. You are correct when you say we should be helping each other." Welkin took another sip. "But unfortunately there will always be those...I suppose psychopaths that want to see everything burn. There will always be people who want to harm others, and because of that we cannot stand idle. How I go about it is I think about who I'm dealing with. It is wrong, yes, to think of men as unequal and judge unfairly or by different standards."

Ren nodded and listened to the courier. "The approach I take depends on several variables. Are there innocents that will be hurt if I do not harm this man? Is there an alternate solution? Is this man not stoppable by non-violence or at most minimum violence? If I can answer those questions then I will know I did the right or wrong thing to kill a person. I believe that killing a person who cannot be reasoned with, who refuses to back down and stop despite several attempts to make him stop, is morally correct."

"But on what basis is that morality? I thought morality was relative." Ren asked.

"Indeed...if we wanted no universal moral law. I don't believe morals are relative. I believe there are universals that everyone follows, no matter what society they are in. Simple things like do not kill the innocent, or do not thieve out of greed. Were we to follow a relativist view, people would be able to justify genocide." Ren nodded in understanding.

"I never took you to be a philosophizing man. And here you are talking about universal moral laws..." Ren took a sip from his coffee cup.

"I had time to think while in reformation. One of the first things they let me go to was a library, and they had offered a class on philosophy. I have been hooked on the subject since." Welkin drained the rest of his coffee. "To finish your question though...I do not simply deal with death. A dead person is still a dead person, and by my hands no less. I would be lying to you if I did not say some nights I see the faces of the people I've killed. I ask myself the question: who were they really? Who did they love and live with? All that stuff. But I know that when morning comes there is nothing more I can do to know the man I murdered, and I move on hoping that I did the right thing. The only advice I can offer you is to reflect on your actions. Were they in accordance to natural law? And was it morally correct? Keep in mind you saved me and helped me out immensely."

"Hmm...I believe I'll think on that. I believe I'll try to avoid killing another man from now on. It...it is not right. Thanks for the talk." Ren offered a handshake, which Welkin gladly took.

"Yeah sure thing. Just don't tell the others I'm into thinking. Gotta keep the meathead façade going. The philosophizing can come during nights." Welkin waved to Ren as the other man walked back inside. He heard Ren give off a light chuckle before turning back to overlook the scenery.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Story Time with Yang!

Yang laid on her bed, getting ready for a good night's sleep. She had borrowed Ruby's headphones and was currently blasting songs from her favorite band, the Achieve Men. She had been listening to their latest album: X-Ray and Vav. Yang flipped through her history book, studying now as she would most likely forget to do so in the morning. Ruby and Weiss were on their beds, respectively, studying for their Monster Biology test. Professor Port had decided to split the test into two, one for each half of the team. Blake and hers was going to happen at a slightly later date, which meant they had time to relax for a little longer.

Yang looked under her bed to see Blake still reading...whatever it was she was reading. However, she noticed that there was actually a smaller book inside the gargantuan textbook. What the heck...? Yang pulled off the headphones and peered over from above, trying to make out what was on the book.

"He turned and discarded the tight shirt, revealing his sweat drenched body. His body was ready..." Yang managed to make out, before turning beet red. She realized what her partner was reading: pure, unadulterated, smut. Yang continued reading along, soaking in the details to tease Blake later. Blake's ribbon twitched and Yang immediately rolled back on her back, stifling a laugh.

"Is something funny Yang?" Blake called up after closing her book with a snap. The other two looked over before continuing their reading.

"Nah, it's just. Well, now that you mention it. This setting just kind of takes me back to when I had to work with Crasher, Sunny, and Mike on a project. We were inside one of those study rooms in the library, going through article upon article for this project..." Yang began to tell the story when Weiss piped up.

"Do we really need to hear this now? We're trying to study!" Weiss glared at the blonde, who rolled on her side and rested on her hand, elbow bent.

"Well geez, you could just say you're not interested." Yang grinned in amusement, "It's a pretty funny story though."

"I'll pass. I've seen enough of that brute to know he doesn't understand the basic concept of reading. I somehow doubt a Neanderthal like him could understand even a children's book."

"Hey now, that ain't fair. Besides, I wasn't gonna complement his reading ability...or lack of like you mentioned."

Ruby looked at Yang, curious somewhat. "Actually, I'd like to hear the story."

"I agree, I would like to hear it too." Blake joined in.

"Great, two to one. If you want you can borrow these headphones while I'm talking." Yang held up the red headphones and waved them around slightly.

"Pass. I have ear plugs." Weiss put on some foam ear plugs immediately and continued to study. Yang shrugged and sat up on the bed.

"So, as I was saying. We were going through all these books one day because we were trying to finish the project as fast as possible. We're just going over the material and whatnot. Now, Crasher doesn't like to read into things extraordinarily deep. If he could have it at face value, then he'll take it at face value. 'Course, literature classes don't work like that. So he just picks up a book and looks at it after going through several books..." Yang picked up her book to demonstrate, "and just drops the damned thing on the floor while yelling 'GODDANG IT I'M TIRED OF THIS NONSENSE!' The rest of us were so confused." Yang grinned as the others blinked a few times.

"So he decides to start working on the presentation while we scour the books. He gives up because he can't do anything without our information. He picks up this huge book, about the same size as our Monster Biology class, and starts going through it. Now the funny thing about it is that he actually goes quiet. He's just reading along with the rest of us. So, finally Mike looks up because by then he would have complained about it. He tapped my shoulder and gestured to see what he was reading..." Yang continued explaining.

"So, I check out what he's reading...and apparently he found one of those cut into books. The ones that are gutted to fit things inside. So I lean over and he's really into the book and I check it out." Yang started giggling at the memory. "And, next thing I read, it's actually reaaaalllly bad smut. Like, the kind of smut that's written by a hormonal teenage girl." Yang couldn't restrain her laughter as she tried to recite a line from the book, "He opened his robes and revealed it all. Marcus could only stare in hunger." Ruby and Blake grinned at how bad it sounded.

"So I finally was able to speak, and I said to him 'I didn't know you were in to huge muscle men, with sweat rolling down their bodies.' He slammed the book down immediately and jolted up, totally red-faced with fury. The other two laughed and asked what it was, and when I showed them the contents of the book they started laughing. We couldn't stop laughing. That entire year I think every time we went to the gym we started pointing out huge guys that were shirtless to him. We kept asking if he was into that kinda beef."

Yang laughed really hard along with Ruby, as Blake smiled at the notion of Welkin liking huge men. "I had no idea he was into reading those kind of books...he didn't look like it." Blake said.

"Yeah I know! I thought he was into really cute girls!" Ruby took a drink from her cocoa. "I still can't believe it. Why was he reading it so deeply?"

"I dunno. He said he thought it was relevant to the subject. I dunno, I think he just wanted to read something hot and steamy." Yang laughed, "Well, story time's over. I think we should all get some shut-eye." Yang flopped back on the bed, "Oh yeah, here. Thanks sis!" Yang handed back over the headphones to the sibling, who took it back with a nod. They returned to their respective spots in the room, with knowledge of one of Welkin's possible secret hobbies.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Rooftop Conversation

Blake and Weiss knelt on the roof, keeping over watch of the café. At Yang and Ruby's request, the two of them watched to make sure nothing funny happens during the meeting. Weiss huffed and paced in irritation, waiting for the two to meet with Crasher. They had spotted Cardin's group following Jaune's earlier, but they had felt no need to tell team JNPR.

"Why the heck are we going through with this plan? It's pointless." Weiss complained, "I thought you would be sensible enough to disagree with their plan." She shot a look at Blake, who was keeping vigilance.

"They said they had a lead, I think it would be better to see where it goes instead of not having a lead." Blake looked back at her. "It's the most reasonable thing to do."

"I still don't think that Ruby and her stupid sister are any good..."

Blake shook her head, "And yet they were both accepted here and they both have shown themselves to be quite proficient. You saw how Ruby thought up so quickly a plan to kill that Nevermore. You also saw how Yang managed to not be swallowed by that Nevermore." Blake put a hand on Weiss' shoulder, "You just need to give them a bit of trust. After all, I think we're all still skeptical about being in a team of strangers."

Weiss thought for a moment, "I spoke with Professor Port about a similar subject...do you think I've been to critical of them?"

"I do not believe they cannot take criticism if that is what you mean. I'm certain they take the words into perspective...and strive to be better." Weiss nodded and thought back to the night she caught Ruby studying hard despite it being so late. "We'll be alright. It helps to be pushed every so often."

"...Hey. Thanks." Weiss crossed her arms and walked over to the ledge to look down.

"Any time...ah, I see him."

"Should we get down from here? It seems pointless to be up here now." Weiss asked Blake, who nodded.

"Let's continue watching from down below." The two of them leapt off the side and on the sidewalk as 'Crasher' parked next to Yang to talk to them.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Uncertainty

Jaune and Pyrrha watched the highway exit for the man who was being chased, just in case he came by that way. Jaune had sent Nora and Ren off to see if they could help him out. With any luck, they could handle it without getting badly hurt. Jaune was keeping track of his team's aura with the tablet on his arm. Pyrrha leaned against the pole next to them, arms crossed. He sighed after a few minutes, "I shouldn't have done that. I think I made a mistake by splitting us up."

Pyrrha looked at him and sighed, "You've been tracking their aura's since we separated. Has it changed for the worse?"

"Well...no...bu-"

"Then everything is fine. I understand that it's hard to handle it...but you must trust them."

"I know, but...I still can't help but be worried...I sent them out and I might have sent them out to di-" Jaune stopped before he could say it.

Pyrrha put both her hands on his shoulder and looked at him in the eyes, "I understand. Jaune, as leader you will always fear that. Fear that you might make a mistake and hurt an ally. The best you can do is accept that fear, acknowledge it for what it's worth, and make sure you don't make any mistakes."

"Oh gee, no pressure when you put it like that..." Jaune muttered nervously.

"You understand what I mean those. If you fear your actions, you will not do anything. You cannot lead without risk you know."

"Yeah...yeah I know. It's just it still makes me nervous. I'll...I'll try not being too nervous."

"It's the best you can do now. Don't worry. I'm sure time will make you a fearless leader. After all, you dealt with that ursa and Cardin, and everyone's been training you." Pyrrha smiled warmly at the budding leader.

"Thanks again Pyrrha. I appreciate it, really." An explosion sounded in the distance that caught their attention. Not long after they heard police siren and an engine roaring down the road. The motorcycle jumped off the highway and landed in front of them. The man from earlier quirked an eyebrow and grinned, throwing a thumbs up at them before he roared off down the street. "What the hell...?"

Nora came sailing down a minute or so later, followed by an exhausted Ren. "Wait, slow down Nora!"

"Sorry Ren!" Nora called back.

"Are you two alright? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have just had you two go. We should have come too." Jaune apologized immediately. Nora and Ren nodded.

"Yeah! We're cool. We were all like, beating up bad guys and stuff! It was pretty cool." Nora bounced up and down energetically. "Also took down an airship!"

Pyrrha and Jaune looked at each other dubiously, after all they had heard Nora's stories before...and dreams.

"Regardless, shouldn't we meet up with Ruby and the others? I think we have to go retrieve that package." Pyrrha said to the group.

"Huh? Oh yeah. Yeah let's go and get that package now." Jaune smiled awkwardly and led the team toward the café where team RWBY was waiting.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Memories of the Future

_He had it all. Everything burned like his plan. Complete freedom. Complete anarchy. The world had become free for everyone and he laughed gleefully, almost maniacal in a sense, as people caused the end of people. He knew it, it was not the grimm that would end them, oh no. It was foolish little man and their ambitions...and when those ambitions become unchained._

_Chris leaned back on the large lawn chair, wrapping his arm around one of the twins he was with (he couldn't tell them apart sometimes.) He reveled in glory at all the solid gold objects around the room, relishing his accomplishments. He enjoyed watching Beacon burn, everyone burn, that darned blonde who was working with..._

_A huge metal fist slammed through the gold door (because everything was gold after all,) and the door wrenched open the wrong way. He heard the laugh of a monster. A demon almost. The other door kicked inwards, and a man wearing a heavy coat walked in. His fists were blood-red and drenched in what he could guess was blood. He lifted his hand slowly, laughing all the while, "YOU! Coward. Did you think you could HIDE?" Chris felt himself falling as he looked around him. he was in a black zone...with nothing around him, not even a floor. He reached for his two pistols at his side and pulled them out._

_"Did you know fools and cowards are the first to burn in a revolution?!" He heard the man laugh again as walls suddenly appeared, white and stained with the faces of the damned around him. "Did you know traitors were among their numbers?! In fact...they were the fools and cowards."_

_Chris turned to see a demon with huge red horns running at him with a hammer. He opened fire to no avail, and began running down the hall. He reached the intersection when a fist shot out of the wall and grabbed him, squeezing hard on his neck._

_"Traitor. Coward. We were there for you. But you turned your back on us. Your hubris will end you!" He felt his neck snap-_

Chris jolted up, drenched in sweat from the dream that had turned to nightmare. He looked around him and soaked in the surroundings: the club's rest rooms. Right. He got up and cleaned up, contemplating the nightmare. Was he a coward?

_"COME BACK HERE YOU COWARD!" Welkin yelled as his car sped away._

No. No it was just Welkin trying to psyche him out. He pulled on his jacket and went down the stairs. The club was split, with one side being the apartment for Junior and the twins, and important people. He could smell fresh eggs being fried on a griddle. The smell of warm toast managed to knock away the dream from his memory for now.

"Man, you look horrible." He heard Melanie state flatly, sipping from a porcelain teacup. They were not in their normal attire, but in their sleeping clothes. He guessed they had just gotten up too.

"Do I? I didn't check." He poured himself a cup of black coffee and sat down at the table across of her. Miltia finished cooking up some eggs and placed them on a plate for the two of them before going back to make some more, "Thanks, Miltia."

"Yeah, like, a lot worse than normal. Bad dream or something? Or were you actually 'busy' last night?" Melanie taunted him, to which he stared back.

"Do I -look- like I do that?" Chris countered, sipping from his cup in misery.

"Well, maybe. What's on your mind."

"Your first guess was actually right. Bad dream, nothing more than that."

"You know, I heard that some dreams could be prophecies. Tales of things to come." Miltia joined the conversation as she stirred the scrambled eggs around. "I heard that you should watch what you do if you ever get a nightmare, else it become true."

"You know that's not true sis." Melanie rolled her eyes, "You really going to believe stories like that? Then you might as well believe other fairy tales."

"W-well..."

"Your sister isn't entirely wrong Melanie. There might be truth to it sometimes." Junior stepped into the dining room, dressed as normal except with no sunglasses. "Of course sometimes you have to almost try to do it. Morning son, have a bad dream?" He sat down with a cup of coffee next to Chris.

"Yeah well, it's just a dream. Ain't nothing special."

"Tough guy act huh? Alright, I won't pry. Thanks Miltia." He nodded a thank you to the younger sister as she placed a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him.

"You get any information on what it was that Welkin was carrying?" Chris took a bite from his breakfast.

"No business while I'm eating kid, you know the rules. I like my bacon very much." Junior took a bite from the crispy bacon. "Melanie, why don't you learn to cook from your sister."

"Nope."

"That wasn't a question." Junior stated. "You need to learn how to handle things and party less. Otherwise we'll end up with another one of those times."

"Hey, that's unfair. That was my first time cooking!" Melanie shot back at Junior.

"Yeah, and you nearly burnt down my apartment. I don't appreciate that." Junior retorted. The two started bickering about the past as Chris watched on. He didn't have a family since the blast at Signal, since he was technically dead, but these three...well, it was close enough almost. Miltia nudged him and smiled somewhat, almost as if she acknowledged his thoughts. He pushed the dream away into the back, and decided to spend 'quality time with Junior and the Twins' instead of pondering his choices.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Alert, Alert

It had been about two weeks. Welkin leaned back against the sofa in the resting room for the couriers that passed by. He had not received a single package to go back to Vale like he had hoped, so he had become beached at Alistier. He still messaged Yang and the others he managed to catch some time off, but he's been running quite a lot of packages there. The Star of Polaris company seemed to always be lacking in hand here, as it -was- fairly north and cold; not to mention people had to cross Forever Fall to get there. He sighed as he flipped through the book on Ethics he had borrowed from the desk clerk. It was tiring, and he really wanted a break.

"Thirteen! Hey! Thirteen! Got a job for you!" Welkin sat back up and placed the book on the table. He stretched a bit and headed downstairs to the clerk.

"Courier thirteen, ready and waiting." Welkin did a mock salute, with a completely straight face. The desk clerk chuckled a bit and grinned at him, at which Welkin also grinned, "Didja need me tex?"

"Yeah, got a package here. He needs the best of the best on it." The clerk gestured to the suited man. "Pay is here, location is here...Firebase Magnum." The clerk pointed to a military base on the outskirts of Alistier.

"Yes sir, you can count on me." Welkin shot the man a thumbs up. He looked at him, completely unamused.

"Get it done. If he's your best so be it." The suited man put his fedora back on and left, having already paid the advance to get it shipped.

"You heard the man, Welks. Sign here and whatnot. Standard procedure and all. Firebase Magnum is near the border of where them damned grimm are. They keep the place safe. Can't be hard to miss considerin' they installed those new dust guns."

"What now?" Welkin looked at the clerk, who handed him a newspaper. The paper had a shot of what appeared to be a massive siege gun at the center of the base. The headline exclaimed: 'New Dust Cannon to be Used, Military Extols It's Excellence.' "That's...big."

"Yeah, if you need to just follow the loud thumps. I heard that's just the siege gun firing. Well good luck Thirteen. See you soon." The clerk waved to him as Welkin grabbed his gear from the locker nearby. "Oh yeah, don't let the grimm eat you on the way."

Welkin laughed and waved at him on the way out, "Never, Sully. That ain't happenin' to me." He climbed onto the Frauline and revved the engine, making sure there was enough dust for the return trip. He tapped on the data pad on his bag, marking a route and setting himself up to go.

"Hey, Welkin, you forgot something." The clerk had rushed out carrying a backpack radio set that he used to communicate with other couriers and stations. The rectangular box was light and dust powered, and painted black with the red Star of Polaris emblem on the back. "Frequency 1-1-7, channel 69." Welkin pulled on the radio set and connected it with his headphones. He switched the knobs and whatnot.

"Seriously Sully? Sixty-nine? We're mature here aren't we." Welkin laughed and waved as he roared off towards Firebase Magnum.

The road was incredibly uneventful. He sped down the highway, thinking to himself and all the things he could be doing instead of going to the Fire Base. He knew their nickname, 'Firebase Magnum Dong.' Welkin grinned at how mature the military could be. He continued driving for what felt like a few hours before he heard some loud thumping.

"Huh. That sounds like-" He was about to continue when he heard another thump and saw the bright flash of the muzzle in the distance. "Yep. Almost there." He arrived at the front of the gates and nodded to a guard, "Star of Polaris Courier Service sir! Got a delivery to...Captain Tellius."

"Damn, nice ride man. Oh and sure thing. I'll just need to check identificatio-" THUMP. "Man, they're really testing the hell out of the thing aren't they?"

"You can say that again Larks. Damn thing won't let me sleep on the job."

"Yeah you always sleep on the job though Braggart. Have a change for once. So what's inside this thing Thirteen? Some...'personal' content maybe?" 'Larks' grinned at the Courier who shrugged in response.

"Ain't in protocol to look into people's packages ma-" THUMP. The blast drowned out the last word. "They are seriously going buck wild with that thing aren't they?" Leaned to look behind the guard.

"Yeah, they've been doing it since dawn. They said someone found a large group of grimm out there, and I guess they want to blow em to smithereens." Larks signed off on some papers and took the package from the courier. "Alright man, you have a good one. Payment's been linked to your company. We'll let the cap' know he's got something."

"Take care." Welkin revved his engine and sped of back towards Alistier. He was about half a mile out when he heard a large explosion. The turned around and looked at Firebase Magnum; one of the large guns had exploded and the sirens around the base were sounding. Then the most curious thing happened.

A large ball of energy seemed to engulf the base, forming some sort of intricate blue and purple web...before converging into a center point and bursting. The energy kicked up waves and made him swerve, forcing him to stop to avoid rolling. He looked at the base again...and everything was off. No alarms, no guns, no noise. The base had lost all its sound...and from that vacuüm Welkin could hear screams and bestial roars. "Oh shit..." Welkin turned his bike around and sped towards the base, intent on finding out what in heaven's name happened. He got a little closer when he heard over his radio:

"Alert! Alert! This is Firebase Magnum, we are being overrun with Grimm. I repeat, we are being overrun with Grimm. Our base has lost all power due to some freaky...whatever it is. This radio is on a backup crystal that managed to escape the shock. We need assistance. To anyone who can hear us, we need help he-" The message was cut short.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Shot in the Dark

Ruby sat back against the chair, sleepy as all can be from Professor Port's lecture. The man had an amazing ability to drone on and on about the most mundane subjects...usually about him. She could see in the corner he had managed to cause a bulltusk grimm to fall asleep from the droning. Score one for Ruby, she managed to not fall asleep to Professor Port. She looked at her team mates next to her. Weiss was taking notes, despite clearly being bored. So was Blake. And Yang just had her face down on the desk snoozing away. "Someone outta wake her up..." Ruby muttered to herself as she tried to take more notes on Professor Port's grand escapade to find Cheese.

"And you see, that is how I managed to capture my good friend Edgar here! Okay, it seems we are out of time. Remember there is a test on friday, so study hard my wonderful students!" Professor Port finished his lecture and went around the desk to pack up his notes and clean up the board.

Ruby finally allowed herself to yawn as she packed up her stuff. The other two gathered up their papers and bags as well. Ruby walked over and prodded Yang in the side, who squeaked and jumped out of her chair. "Good to see you're awake sis."

"Oh hey Ruby...uh...did I fall asleep? Nah I was -totally- awake during that!" Yang grinned and rubbed the back of her head sleepily. She picked up her bag, not needing to clean up since she never bothered unpacking in the first place.

"You were totally asleep. How are you supposed to learn if you don't pay attention in class!?" Weiss demanded of the blonde.

"I dunno. Read a book I guess?" Yang pulled her bag over her shoulder and followed Ruby and Blake out, with Weiss stepping along quickly.

"You idiot, what if he tests us on the lecture! You have no notes!"

"Nah, it's alright. I do have notes. I'm just gonna have to borrow yours!" Yang laughed. The two exited the main hall and were heading towards the dormitories. They walked past Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch, who nodded in acknowledgement at them. The evening lecture had seemed to have dragged on longer than usual. The stars were out and the beacon of the academy lit the surrounding area with fluorescent light.

"Man I'm hungry...I hope they're still serving food..." Ruby moaned as they walked through the park.

"Hm...I hope so too. Sleeping on an empty stomach is not very pleasant." Blake added.

Suddenly her eyes shot open and she stood up straight. A bang. A very loud, powerful gunshot. She turned around and looked at the others, "Did you all hear that?" The others stared at her dumbfounded.

"Uh...what? What was it?"

"It sounded like a rifle...I could've sworn I heard a gunshot."

"Professor Ozpin!" They heard Professor Goodwitch exclaim. The good professor was sprawled out on the ground, his mug shattered. He was holding onto his chest, bleeding profusely.

"Professor!" The four ran back to see what had occurred.

"I am fine young ladies. Mostly." He remained composed despite the terrible wound. Professor Goodwitch did what she could to stymie the bleeding.

"You two, go alert medical we have an emergency case coming. Now please." She gestured for Blake and Yang to go. "You two, stay with me. Provide me cover in case someone tries again! Stay with us Professor, you'll be okay."

"The sky...it's full of stars." He muttered dreamily before passing out.

"Professor!" An emergency medical team arrived from the main hall and helped move the professor to the medical center on the double.

Ruby and Weiss could only stare in horror, who would have tried to assassinate Professor Ozpin? And why? Just why?

XxXxXxXxXxX

Notes:

Well ladies and gentlemen, it's the end again. I gotta say, I kind of enjoy doing these sort of small one shot things. If I ever get around to it I might just make a collection of these to follow along the story of Thirteen. Just some extra material to help people get to know the characters or have them grow as people.

The last two bits tie into the meat of the plot. We'll be starting with Part 5: "For What and Why?" sometime later this week, or next week because midterms! Things are going to kick into high gear with Chapter Two: Devil's Four, and I'm probably going to split it into A and B chapters just to get the content in my head out. I want to keep it within thirteen or fourteen parts, just to keep with the theme of "Thirteen."

I'm really having a blast writing all this. And I really hope you, the readers, are enjoying it. Thanks for sparing me the time, I really appreciate it

_Encyclopedia Entry:_

_Chris Pierre Schultz. Age: 18. Sex: Male. Hair Color: Black. Eye Color: Brown_

_Height: Five Feet Six Inch. Weight: 123.5 Pounds_

_Bio: The only son from his family, Chris grew up in the middle income zone of Vale. His parents were technicians and extremely adapt at working with machinery, and as a result Chris grew up learning mechanics. On the bad side though, he grew up without his parents, as they were busy working all the time. During grammar school, and a little into Signal, he mixed with some of the wrong crowd. However, he was not an idiot, and chose to separate from them when he realized how self-destructive they were. Chris learned to take care of himself, and not rely on other people. He decided to apply to Signal on his own, as he had a knack for tinkering with weapons (his room as full of tooled and customized airsoft guns.) _

_Chris went to Signal with his friend Welkin. The two were almost inseparable during combat and often worked with one another when possible. While Welkin was the bedrock that held the line, Chris was the backup that would outflank opponents. His expertise with mid-ranged fire arms and swords made him a perfect match for long range fighters however, as he was neither durable enough to be on the front with Welkin and not fast enough to tangle with the faster opponents. A slight rift appeared during their later years because of this. Welkin would find himself teamed up with other close ranged fighters (such as Yang,) while Chris would end up sitting back with Erin Shanghai. An accident occurred at Signal that caused him to disappear. He has since reappeared, and works frequently with Roman Torchwick or Junior. He lives with Junior and the Twins._

_Fighting Style: Mid-range dakka, close range precision slicing. Chris prefers to keep opponents a stones throw away, and has an assault rifle to keep it like that. He prefers to disengage close range by dropping distractions such as flash bangs on the floor, and likes to maintain an advantage of some kind. That being said, he can handle himself in melee. His swordsmanship is above average, and each hit carries enough weight to do damage. He's an expert gunman, and quite capable at dual wielding (though he prefers not to because of the loss in accuracy.) _


	6. Part Five: Fire Base (A)

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY and whatnot. I do claim ownership of original things.

Intro Notes: Well, here we go. Chapter Two, or act two, either one. I'm gonna make things roll on a lot faster now. More action, more plot. I've split this part into two sections. A will focus on the adventures of team RWBY, while B shall be following Welkin along. This will change according to parts, as the focus shall be switching. I hope I'm writing something compelling and/or interesting. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.

XxXxXxXxXxX

**Chapter Two: Devil's Four**

Part 5: Fire Base

Side A: A New Task

XxXxXxXxXxX

"So how is the Professor?" Ruby rose her hand and asked Professor Goodwitch, who was explaining the state of affairs currently to the entire school. The assassination attempt had riled everyone up, and caused a massive stir. It was unprecedented, why would anyone try to assassinate the head of a school? Let alone how was able to get close enough to take a shot at him?

"Professor Ozpin is currently recovering at the Hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery. Until his return I am taking over as headmaster temporarily. I expect nothing truly to change in your day to day activities, so your education shall be unhindered."

"But professor, won't someone try and kill him again? What about the rest of the staff? How can we be sure they won't try anything on anyone else?" Weiss rose her hand and called out to the front. The other students murmured similar questions among themselves.

"Rest assured, security shall be handled. Your safety and the safety of the faculty is currently our number one priority. To that extent, I would like to advise students and faculty to remain vigilant. We shall be calling in some more security to assist in protecting the school until it has been cleared. I shall also take this time to say that all incursions out of the academy shall be suspended." Goodwitch got several loud groans and complaints for this, "It is for your own safety that the school has to be in lock down. Off campus activities such as fundraisers shall need to go through the main office for inspection, in addition to having a professor chaperon."

"Well that sucks. So now we're locked in the school because they're super paranoid." Yang frowned and crossed her arms.

"It makes sense though. I believe the staff would rather have us somewhere they can keep an eye on." Blake shrugged as the announcement ended and students began clearing the hall.

"Yeah, well...it's not all that bad? I mean we do have classes here..." Ruby shrugged and added as they walked back to their dormitory. Classes had been canceled for the day so students could send out updates to family and such. "Oh, I should probably tell Uncle Qrow everything is okay."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea...hmm. I hope the professor's alright. I mean, what are the odds of this happening?" Yang strolled with her hands behind her head.

"Unlikely...I don't think there would be a reason to go after him." Blake unlocked the door to their dorm. She turned on the light and proceeded to sit on her bed. "Unless people would like to silence him for a reason?"

"Well, can you think of any reason someone would go after one of the most prestigious professor's ever? I certainly can't. There's almost no reason for it."

"Hey...what 'bout what Crasher gave him? Think that might have to do with it?" Yang rolled over onto her side while on the bed, she looked at the others.

The others looked at each other for a moment.

"Oh yeah, actually that might do it. They did try to kill him for something he wanted to give to Professor Ozpin." Ruby put her fist on her palm, processing her thoughts.

"You -really- think that Crasher's thing was that important? I thought it was just coffee for Oobleck." Weiss raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Well, there were two packages. I think it would make sense. Maybe they were trying to kill him to stop him from using it?" Ruby asked the team.

"I don't think so. If they wanted it not used, they would have just stolen it I think. Not to mention, it would have caused less of a commotion. I think they were trying to send a message." Blake tapped on her cheek, thinking about the possibilities.

"A message of what? Fear? I don't think so. They wouldn't need to strike fear in the hearts of everyone if they wanted to stop him from using whatever it was...unless." Weiss thought for a bit before continuing, "Unless they wanted the students and staff to not intervene. It would make sense. Locking down Beacon would keep everyone, staff, faculty, and students here. I think their actual goal was not to scare students, but to scare the staff into paralysis. Instead of going out to properly hunt down whoever could've taken the shot, they're choosing to hold everyone back."

"Ah! I get it, so they can work without needing to worry about someone from Beacon trying to stop them! Those jerks!" Yang sat up straight on her bed. "So shouldn't we be breaking the rules?"

"No! We're going to get expelled if we do that!" Weiss cried out, "And I for one prefer being safe here and not having to break rules than going off on a fool's errand."

"I believe the proper step is to contact Welkin and see if he would tell us what that package was. It is probably something important, as they were willing to kill for it." Blake looked up at Yang. "Think you can contact him?"

"Well...No...but I do know someone who can." Yang pulled out the Shark Biker business card. "Let me call him and see if he could contact him for us." The others nodded and Yang pulled out her cellphone. She dialed in the number and waited through the tones.

"Goooood evening sir or madam, I would like to thank you for calling the best mechanics in town. We here at Shark Bikers take pride in our work. Now, tell me, what can Sir Andrew Ramirez do for you this evening?" The suave Latin voice spoke over the cellphone, which was on speaker phone.

"Hey, Andrew? It's Yang. Got a minute to spare?"

"But of course my fair lady, what can your humble servant do for you? Does it have to do with the Bumblebee?"

"Actually no. Thanks for that by the way, it works very well." Yang grinned at the mention of her now fabulous motorcycle, "I need you to contact Welkin. We need to talk to him."

"Ah, very well madam. Can I take your message? I believe I know the radio comms for Alistier."

"I'd rather we speak to him ourselves, think that's possible?"

"Well, Yang, as much as I'd like too...haha, of course. Let me see what I can do. Think you can drop by the shop?"

"Can't Andrew, school's locked down. Someone tried to assassinate Professor Ozpin." Ramirez sounded flabbergasted.

"Who the hell in their right mind would...never mind. This became harder you realize. Perhaps I could send you the radio."

"Or you could just throw it over the fence to me."

"But that might dama-"

"Aww com'on. I'll catch it!"

"How do you expect me to throw a radio to Beacon? Which rests far away from where I live. Mind you, it's not a light radio set."

"Hm...why don't you bring it to Beacon then? What's stopping you from getting on an airship and coming here now?"

"Nothing except...well...work of course. My fair lady, I'll bring it to you as soon as I can. At the moment I need to finish work on this vehicle in the shop. I'll stop by tonight."

"Sure, I'll see you later then. Bring the radio!" Yang ended the call as Andrew replied. "We got it. Now we just wait."

Blake leaned back against the headboard, taking out a book from her stock pile nearby to read. "So I believe we just wait now. I shall be reading if anyone needs me."

"We should probably study. If they're still going to hold class then we've still got that test coming up. I'd rather we be prepared for that now more than anything." Yang pulled Ruby to their desks to study. Yang rolled onto her back and decided to simply nap instead. Studying could come later.

XxXxXxXxXxX

A few hours later, Yang's phone began ringing. 'Marrrkkk nuuuuttttt!' the phone yelled loudly, causing her to jump from her sleep. The others looked at her in confusion. Yang picked up the phone quickly, "Hello?"

"I am at the gate right now, with your good Professor Goodwitch pointing her staff at me. If possible, would you be so kind as to come and stop her from turning me into the next floor tile paint?"

Yang jumped off the bed to go help Ramirez, "Be right back! You guys wait here!" Yang bolted down to the main entrance to see Andrew Ramirez, more cleaned up and in normal clothing instead of a jumpsuit, carrying a large parcel. He was held at gunpoint Professor Goodwitch and Professor Port, "Wait! Wait he's a friend!"

"Miss Yang Xiao Long, would you care to explain why you invited a complete stranger to a locked down school. And why I shouldn't give you detention for doing so?" Professor Goodwitch glared at the blonde.

"Uh, yes ma'am. He's bringing me something I need to use. It's a radio. And to answer the second question, I think I have a lead to Professor Ozpin's shooter." Professor Goodwitch raised an eyebrow at that and lowered her stick. Ramirez looked a little less tense as the two professors lowered their gear.

"My dear girl, what do you mean you have a lead to the shooter? Do you know something?" Professor Port asked, putting his...axe blunderbuss away.

"Well, not yet I don't. Which is why I need the radio. I think I know someone who does!" Yang smiled at the two Professors.

"...I shall accompany you two then. Professor Port, thank you for bringing him to us."

"It has been my pleasure madam. Please let me know if you'd ever like to hear the tale of when I took down a beowolf by myself! Do enjoy your evening." Professor Port turned away to continue his patrol. The three proceeded to team RWBY's room, and surprised the rest of the team when Professor Goodwitch opened the door.

"Professor! Uh...good evening." Weiss and the others stood up immediately.

"You. Set up the machine on the table over there. It looks unused." Goodwitch pointed to Yang's desk in the corner. Ramirez immediately walked over and began unpacking and setting up the radio set. "I apologize for the intrusion young ladies, but Miss Xiao Long believes she has a lead to Ozpin's shooter."

"Well...um, I guess lead might be wrong. We have a hunch as to why he got shot." Yang patted her mane nervously, hoping Professor Goodwitch wouldn't yell at her for changing her choice of words. Thankfully she was not in the mood.

"Regardless, it would be helpful to know why. We could compose a possible list of suspects." Ramirez finished setting up and began operating the set.

"Six-four, six-four, this is Shark Bait Alpha. Six-four, does anyone copy? Great, alright I need the channel and frequency for Alistier's Star of Polaris office. They all use the same channel I think." Ramirez scratched down some numbers, "Thanks. I won't need to pull that favor from you it seems." He grinned and switched the channels and frequency. "Hmm...1-1-7...and...69." He flicked the knob into place, switched the sound from his headset to the speakers and began, "Seven-Eight, do you copy, over. This is Shark Bait Alph-" The sound of screaming over the radio came out of the speakers. "Oh jesus. Cut it out. I'm not that scary."

"This is Five-Twelve, help! Help! They're everywhere! They're. Oh. Oh god, please N-!" The voice went dead.

"Five-twelve respond! Five-twelve! This is Three-Fourty-Four, where's Five-Twel-what the hell is that noi-? Everyone grab your gear! Grimm!" Another called out and an eruption of gunfire sounded over the radio. The radio chatter continued, of the same sorts as couriers reported in and asked for help.

"What is going on there...? How could they be under attack? Alistier has one of the best defenses in the world." Professor Goodwitch asked as she stood by hearing the chatter.

"I have no clue ma'am. Oh, here's an emergency channel..."

"This is Seven-Eight, Lucky Sully reporting! We need immediate assistance to anyone in the area! Grimm are overflowing the streets! Myself and maybe three other people are holed up at the Star of Polaris courier buildin-what was that? Oh god. They're breaking the door down. If anyone can hear this, connect to EMTC-44 and reroute to channel 9! We can't connect to them! Ask them to send help from Firebase Magnum!" The voice cut off before Ramirez can respond.

"There's too many people talking at once. Something is going down in Alistier...something big. Alright let's try that EMTC."

"What is this EMTC you are talking about?" Ruby asked Ramirez as he switched a few things and turned on a red light.

"Emergency Transfer Channel. Usually only used for distress, as it connects to local bases to ask for help...ah here we go."

"-eat this is F-Thir-en, does a-opy. This is a co-rom Star - Polaris transmitting from Fir-ase Magnum. We've g-nded and require immediat-..an-assistance woul-iated. Too many grimm."

"Welkin! Hey Welkin! What's going on?" Ramirez called out.

"Wha-ck? Ramirez, how the hec-ty channel? Aren't you b-Vale?"

"Clean up your signal, I did not copy. Over." They covered their ears from the feedback and crackling, as it reduced itself to a significantly lower level.

"This is courier Four-Thirteen. I repeat, can you hear me now?"

"Yeah, Welkin, good to hear you. What's going on over there? A bloody war?" Ramirez asked his friend.

"You bloody well know it. Something happened. It's like all the dust in the area shut down. Nothing's working except my radio and bike here. The big guns they installed stopped so now they're just flooding us with everything." They could make out Welkin calling a soldier to reinforce one side. "Been trying to connect with Firebases X-ray and Heyman, but they're offline too."

"I see. Hey we have some questions for you."

"It better be important. And who's w-?" Welkin was about to ask when he yelled for someone else to fill in another's position. "Don't let them get too close. Look I can't really just idly c-"

"It's us, Crasher! Are you alright?" Yang interrupted, grabbing the headset from Ramirez's head.

"Yang? What the-what happened? Why are you guys calling me? This is an EMTC!"

"What was in that package that you gave Professor Ozpin? We need to know! Someone tried assassinating him." Yang yelled into the microphone.

"Yang! No need to yell! I've got headphones o- Oh shit NEVERMORE!" Welkin yelled for the others to get a weapon. They heard some panting and movement as they guessed Welkin ran somewhere. "What? You want to know what now?"

"What was in the box Welkin, was it really important?"

"Impossibly so, I still don't know if I should tell you-"

"Mister Fenrir, as acting headmaster I demand you tell me what was the contents of that package. These girls believe it is linked to Professor Ozpin's assassin." Goodwitch interjected.

"...they tried to kill him? Holy mackerel, they were a lot more serious than I thought then." They heard his rifle bang, "I'll keep this brief. Faustus' Box. That's what it was. It's a device that could apparently overload dust...wait a minute...over load dust...OH CRUDE! Yang! You guys need to secure that thing immediately! I know why everything is shut down in Alistier. For the safety of Vale you need to keep that device from being stolen and used!"

Professor Goodwitch looked at the team. "I want Miss Belladonna, Miss Schnee, and Miss Rose to come with me. We are going to secure the package immediately from the headmaster's office. Miss Xiao Long, please continue talking to him. Mister...I never got your name."

"Ramirez, Andrew Antonio Ramirez the Second, at your service madam." He grinned at the stern looking Professor.

"Mister Ramirez, assist in keeping Miss Xiao Long connected. Now, onwards. Quickly."

"Yang I can't talk very much right now. I've got my hands full. Firebase Magnum is going to fall soon."

"Welks, can you get to your bike? You need to get out of Alistier! It sounds like hellfire there. Most of the couriers we tried connecting to stopped responding."

"What about these people here? I can't simply leave them to die." Welkin called back. They could hear the caw of a Nevermore. They could hear a man screaming as it dragged him away.

"If you stay there you're going to die!" Welkin didn't say anything, there was just some gunfire on their side. "Welkin! Seriously!" Yang called out again.

"Yeah...alright..alright. I'll...I'm going to warn you, if Alistier is like this it might take me a while to get back to Vale. Watch yourselves, something is wrong here. The enemy might try and do the same thing to Vale!"

"Alright Welkin, I recommend taking route Twelve all the way down. You could probably catch a train on the way that'll cut through Forever Fall. If that doesn't work use Route 99 and ride it all the way to Vale. Take extra dust if you do that, you probably won't have the fuel." Ramirez marked out a route on the map and sent it to Welkin's data pad.

"I'll see you all later. I don't think I'll be able to contact you guys 'till I'm within calling range, so good luck until then eh? Four-Thirteen, out!"

"Hoo boy...sounds like whatever it is might come this way." Ramirez leaned back, putting the headset down. Yang nodded and clenched her fist, looking out the window.

"Yeah...yeah. Alright! We'll be fine! I mean, we're the toughest of the tough for students you know." Yang grinned and climbed back onto her bed. Ramirez nodded and produced a granola bar to snack on.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Professor Goodwitch and the other three opened the double doors to the headmaster's office. The group looked at the desk, on which Faustus' Box laid. Behind the desk...to their great surprise was Professor Ozpin. A worn out looking and bandaged Professor Ozpin, but it was him none-the-less.

"Good evening ladies. Is there something I can help with?"

"Professor Ozpin! What are you doing here?" Ruby exclaimed.

"Why, Miss Rose, it is my office...I do believe I have a right to be in here." Professor Ozpin took a sip from his mug...using a straw. "To my great disappointment, cold coffee does not taste as good as hot. These bandages have made it hard to enjoy a hot beverage."

"Professor...that's Faustus' Box on your desk, correct?" Professor Goodwitch walked forward to examine the black contraption. "Why is it you had Mister Fenrir deliver it to you?"

"Miss Goodwitch, I did not ask to receive this gift. It was sent to me by my colleagues in Alano. I too find it curious that they would decide to send me such a thing." Professor Ozpin looked at the device as well, taking another sip from his mug.

"Professor, if I may ask, what does Faustus' Box do? Crasher did not explain that part, except for the fact that it may have caused what happened in Alistier." Blake asked the good professor.

"Miss Belladonna, I believe if you have thought about the events in Alistier, you would have come to a conclusion already. I would like to hear it."

"I believe Faustus' Box to be a device that destroys dust powered equipment, which is why communication with the city has become hard. It also explains why the grimm would come to attack, as the citizens could not defend themselves."

"And you are correct in that assumption. I believe Mister Fenrir is experiencing that horror we know as a full out assault by grimm currently. I had warned him too."

"Professor, what will you do with this device, now that you have it. This has the power to cause the end of Vale." Professor Goodwitch stared down the man. Professor Ozpin simply took a sip and shrugged.

"I will not be using it if that is what you are implying. In fact, I believe this unit to be inert."

"How can you tell Professor? How do we know that it is not a bomb just waiting to go off?" Ruby asked the gentleman.

"It lacks the trigger to power it, first of all. Secondly...these connection points on the side. These belong on something larger...if I am to guess it is a larger Faustus' Box."

Blake and Weiss looked at each other and then at the Professor. "So what is your role in all of this Professor? A fragment of Faustus' Box shows up at your door, you almost get assassinated, and now something powered by these boxes have almost destroyed Alistier." Blake asked, "This is more than just a coincidence I believe. You know something and they don't want you to tell anyone."

Professor Ozpin stayed silent for a moment, and then started laughing. He tapped his cane on the floor gently and smiled at Blake, "I do know something, but it is not what you are insinuating. I am not in favor of destroying Vale after all. As headmaster of Beacon, I am training people to defend this fine place." Professor Ozpin took a sip as the others looked at him in shock, "I will tell you what I know from an information broker: there are four of these boxes. Where and when they will be used, I do not know."

"Wait, why have you been talking to an information broker?" Weiss asked, "Isn't that something usually done by criminals."

"Miss Schnee, I believe that even the Bureau of Intelligence uses information brokers. They use it to fight crime...I simply use it to keep up to date. I do not know if the Bureau knows of this plan, but they should."

"Professor, what would happen if these boxes detonate?" Ruby asked. The professor looked at the young girl and frowned.

"An event like never seen before. The power which we use to fight the darkness will disappear momentarily. Whether long enough for the grimm to destroy humanity or not I cannot say. I do not believe it is within any of our interests to have to fight grim without dust."

"Then Professor, I must ask, why have you not taken steps to stop their plans." Professor Goodwitch finally decided to call out Professor Ozpin. "If you know so much, why have you chosen to stay on the sidelines and avoid the duty of protecting Vale."

The professor stayed silent, almost eerily so. Whatever answer he was thinking of...it was taking a while. Professor Goodwitch was about to say something else when he began, "I have not taken steps to stop it...because their plan is foolhardy and will stop itself."

"So you will not intervene because it is not necessary to do so? Is that not flawed logic?" Professor Goodwitch questioned him.

"I will not back down on how I stand. That being said, I cannot -not- do anything anymore. If this has caught the attention of my second in command as well as some of my brightest students, then I believe I will need to take action." Professor Ozpin turned back around. "This piece of the box I entrust to team RWBY, keep it safe and away from anything that would look like it needs it. Protect it with your life. Professor Goodwitch, I will mobilize the faculty and staff tomorrow. We need a plan if we are going to do this. The lockdown will be maintained until further notice though." Professor Ozpin took another sip from his straw. "That would be all." Ruby took the black device from the table and looked at Professor Goodwitch, who simply nodded to them as they left.

Professor Goodwitch stared at Professor Ozpin for a while and asked, "What are you planning and who do you work for?"

"Hmm...I work for the good of Beacon Academy professor. No more no less. I am planning right now our plan of action."

"And trusting one of our newer teams with the piece of the box? Are you certain that is a good idea?"

"Would you rather I handed it to Bartholomew? I do not believe that man can stand still long enough to accept a package, let alone protect it. It will be safe in their hands, after all, one of their friends is coming back to Vale."

"Crasher? How did you know?"

"A sane man would run from a disaster zone to be with his friends...so long he knew that the disaster zone will follow him. If you would, send team JNPR to Forever Fall the day after tomorrow. Have them watch over the ravine exit for Route 99 and bring Mister Fenrir back. He will need the assistance I believe."

XxXxXxXxXxX

Ruby and the others walked back to their dorm, fiddling with the black box. Professor Ozpin had made it infinitely clear they needed to keep it out of enemy hands, and they were ready to fight to keep it with them. Weiss opened the door to find Yang snoozing on the bed and Ramirez napping in a chair, his feet propped up next to the radio set.

"Hmm...a little shut eye doesn't sound bad. It is getting late." Ruby muttered.

"We need to tell Yang about our task first." Blake walked over and climbed onto her bed so her face was right in front of the blonde. Blake poked the blonde in the side a few times, before deciding to simply flick her in the head.

"Ow. Hey cut it out." Yang grumbled and rolled back over. "Not interested Crasher." She muttered sleepily. Blake gave her a light push again when Yang sprang up from the bed, "I SAID CUT IT OUT!" The yell caused Ramirez to jolt up and fall out of his chair and onto the floor.

"My lady, if you would be so kind, your shouting is quite disturbing to the peace." Ramirez rubbed his head gently and got up from his position on the floor. He dusted himself off and realized the others had returned. "Ah, back from the Professor I see."

"Yes. If you do not mind, we need to speak in private." Blake gestured to the team. Ramirez nodded and made his way out the room. "You two explain to Yang what's going on. Ramirez, if you would accompany me." Blake made her way out with the Latin man.

As soon as the door shut and their footsteps died away, Weiss and Ruby looked at the confused blonde, who could only say, "I did not know she was into Latin men...or she was so direct."

"I think she was trying to get him away so he wouldn't over hear. It makes sense, all things considered." Weiss stated and rolled her eyes.

"Yang, we need to keep this quiet, and between us. This means away from everyone and no shouting. Okay? We've got a new mission from Professor Ozpin." Ruby looked at her older sister.

"Subtlety isn't my thing Ruby...but I'll do it. What's going on?" Ruby and Weiss launched into an explanation as to what was going to happen. Ruby handed the device to Yang to check out in the meanwhile. The explanation took a few minutes, as Yang could only nod in understanding and make small comments for clarification.

"So...guard this with our lives huh? That sounds pretty intense."

"It's straight from Professor Ozpin himself. I think it's serious." Weiss said, looking around as if she was making sure no one was listening in. They had spoken softly, to avoid being over heard, but she could never be too sure.

"I getcha. My lips are sealed. So who gets to protect it day in day out? Blake is a good option. She's secretive, almost to the extreme."

"I was thinking the same. She can hold onto it and give most people looking for it a slip." Weiss agreed with the blonde bombshell.

"Alright, then it's settled. I'll let Blake know later. What's happening with Welkin?" Ruby asked Yang.

"Oh you know, the normal stuff. He was under attack, we told him to get outta town on the first train available. He was like alright and now he should be on his way back. Alistier's still pretty far, and it's snowing all the time. I hope he doesn't get lost."

"He'll be fine. I mean, he's done the route before I bet." Weiss muttered.

"Aww, are you trying to comfort me?! Thanks Weiss!" Yang laughed and wrapped an arm around the heiress.

"No, I'm only stating the facts. He did say he outran a Nevermore at Forever Fall. So I can guess within reason that he's not foolish enough to fail coming back." Weiss pulled the limb off her and proceeded to clean up. "I am going to bed. Good night."

Blake and Ramirez returned a little later, a little more red than before. The two of them parted ways at the door, with Ramirez explaining they could keep the radio in order to keep communications with Crasher and everywhere else up. He turned and left to find a guest room to crash the night in. Blake cleaned up along with the others and proceeded to read before going to bed...when Yang popped her head down.

"So enjoy living that smut you read all the time?" Yang winked at the girl, who hit her with a pillow. "Ow, okay. Fine...but seriously, are you into that?" Blake just smacked the blonde haired girl again.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Post Notes:

Thanks again for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed this part. Next part, as stated earlier, will focus on the exploits of Welkin. Yes, there will be overlap, but I think that's acceptable. As usual, leave a note if you would be so kind with some criticism or comments. I'd appreciate it.

_Encyclopedia Entry:_

_Synchronized Communication Array and Radio System (SCARS.) A military developed radio adapted to use around the world. While there were cell phones available for common use, the SCARS system was developed to have a more reliable method of communication separate from civilian communication. The larger set is extremely expensive to own, especially for civilians. That being said, there were many civilians that do own one. For example, the courier services rely on the SCARS system to keep updates on couriers. Using several arrays and perfectly placed transponders, the system can relay messages exceptionally quickly. The SCARS system comes equipped with 150 channels, each with 100 frequencies. There is also the Emergency Transfer Channel (EMTC)-44, which consists of 20 or so channels (the number has never truly been revealed to the public.) Elliot Tech, the company that produces the most common variant of the SCAR also makes backpack variants, which are issued to individual men to carry._


	7. Part Five: Fire Base (B)

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY and whatnot. I do claim ownership of originals.

Intro Note: Welcome to Side B of Part 5: Fire Base. As I mentioned last side, this part is going to focus on what's happening to Welkin over in Alistier. Perhaps I should put in a small encyclopedia entry at the end of every part. It would help world build wouldn't it? Well, again, I hope you all enjoy this. I think I'll put this plan into action.

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**Chapter Two: Devil's Four**

Part 5: Fire Base

Side B: The Devil's Trill

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Welkin gripped onto his breaks hard and turned his bike, skidding to a hard stop at the main gates of the base. In the short period of time he had turned around to leave, the entirety of the base had looked like it had been sacked and burned, with equipment and other things littered about. Welkin climbed off his bike and turned it off. He pulled out his sniper rifle and prepped it for combat. A Nevermore screeched as it flew over head, bombarding an area with feathers. He heard a cry from over there and hurried as fast as he could, jumping and climbing over debris scattered about. He could hear sporadic gunfire and the sounds of beowolves growling or roaring. Welkin jumped over some sandbags and looked at where the feathers had landed, but could only grimace and move on. The Nevermores over head were cawing loudly, causing a devilish trill to surround the base.

"What in the blazes is going on, why are the grimm so riled up?" Welkin asked to no one in particular as he moved from emplacement to emplacement, hoping to find someone alive. "Maybe they're all inside, it would make sense..."

"HEY! Behind you!" Welkin turned around to look, but the beowolf's claws dug hard into his back and sent him flying. Welkin grunted and rolled with the momentum, turning and trying to put a magnum round into the wolf. The wolf side stepped the bullet and pounced, attempting to claw him into ribbons. Welkin dropped the rifle and slammed his fist into the chest of beowolf, stunning it and sending the beast flying away. Welkin dragged himself up and picked up his gear, running as fast as he could to the soldier gesturing for him.

The soldier slammed the door shut and barred it, as other grimm began pounding at the reinforced door. "Aren't you lucky eh?" The soldier asked Welkin. Welkin nodded breathlessly and felt the deep scratches on his back. The radio managed to stop half the blow, thankfully, but there were still bloody claw marks before that.

"Gotta clean up a bit. Good to see someone's still alive." Welkin held onto the wound and followed the soldier down candle and torch lit hall. "How many are you?" He walked into a room full of wounded men, roughly twelve unconscious and seven nursing their injuries.

"This many. We were lucky. We decided to take cover as soon as those Nevermores showed up. While holding the line some of those spitter creatures started hammering at us. The unconscious ones are poisoned I think, because nothing we do is helping them. The rest of em got clawed up by bloody beowolves."

Welkin grimaced and pulled off his gear, pulling out an medical kit from his courier bag. The nearby medic came over to help clean him up.

"Though, I gotta ask, what are you doin here kid? You don't look like a soldier."

"That's right, I'm a courier. I dropped by earlier with a package, and then I saw something happen. I came back because things looked like it was going south." Welkin winced as the medic cleaned off the claw marks.

"Courier eh? Unlucky you, coming back here. Those guns were meant to stop the Nevermores, but they just stopped working. Hell, most of our dust powered gear is off. I'm honestly surprised your stuff isn't."

"I was far away enough. I think I saw what turned it off."

"That web thing right?" Welkin nodded at the soldier, "Yeah I thought so too. I don't know what happened. I've been trying to connect with the rest of the base for a while now, but each time we send a runner they either come back scared witless or...die."

"Where's your commander? I mean, isn't the base CO supposed to organize the men?" The medic finished bandaging up the courier, who simply nodded a thanks.

"Captain Tellius? Somewhere. We think he's at the center bunker, under the gun that exploded. All the communications should link there, but we can't get anything through. Makes sense, considering whatever that web was it turned off all our dust things."

"We still need to go check, if we're gonna survive we have to find the Captain."

"Right. You volunteering kid? Everyone I've asked declined because they don't have a death wish."

"Yes sir, I'll do it. I'm used to running around and carrying messages. Welkin Fenrir. Pleased to meet you." Welkin offered a handshake.

The soldier looked at him, almost wanting ask if he was serious before taking the handshake, "Lieutenant Davidson, I'm gonna ask again, are you sure?"

"Yes sir, I'm sure. I'll get your message through Lieutenant." Welkin got back up and grabbed his gear, "Man, those beowolf scratches hurt..." Welkin's aura kicked on as he began healing as much as he could.

"I hope I never have to find out how bad it is." The two made their way to the door again. "Alright, you ready boy?"

"First, it's either Welkin or Crasher. Don't call me boy." Welkin checked the rifle magazine, "And yeah...let's do this." The lieutenant pulled the heavy door open and threw a flashbang out. The two covered their eyes as it went off, causing the beasts outside to roar in rage. Welkin leaned out the door and dropped the closest beowolf, charging out and firing his semi-auto rifle. Two more beowolves dropped before they recovered and looked at the foolish man who had come to die. A beowolf jumped at Welkin as he charged into them, but he dropped and slid under the wolf, blasting it sky high with the magnum. He ejected the magazine, popping it out with a hiss and slapping a new one into the well.

Then a screech was heard. Welkin looked up at one of the black as night Nevermores flew over head, dropping heavy and sharp feathers onto him. He dived out of the way as the feathers landed and ripped up some of the beowolves. He ran as fast as he could toward the central bunker, jumping over debris. A beowolf pounced onto him from his blind side, tackling him down. He was about to punch it when the Nevermore came back and picked up the beowolf by mistake. The demonic raven dropped the wolf in the distance, as Welkin scrambled off. He made it to the door and slammed it shut, barring the door with the heavy metal block. Beowolves slammed into the door and clawed at it. Welkin turned around and looked at the scattered hall. The lights were off, and there were no torches in the area. Welkin reloaded the rifle again, just to make sure he had some rounds left. He flipped the box flashlight at the end on, turning off the laser.

The walls were covered in scratch marks and signs of combat. There was an occasional body of man or beast left on the floor. He shined the beam down the hall and carefully made his way in. He passed many dark corridors before turning into the main command room. He shined a light into the room, examining it carefully. Welkin spotted the a man laying on the map table.

"Hey! Are you alright?!" Welkin ran over and leaned his rifle against the map table. He flipped the man over to see the Captain had glazed eyes. In his hands was...a copy of Faustus' Box.

"What the hell...Is this a jok-" Welkin began before a clawed hand slammed into him, knocking him away. The rifle clattered away as the Alpha Beowolf roared at him. Welkin sat up and looked at the black furred beast, as the thing lunged again. He rolled away as the wolf crashed into the wall hard. Welkin readied up his gauntlets, glaring at the monster. The single flashlight gave barely enough illumination for him to make out it's red eyes.

"YEAH? COME ON. LET'S DO THIS!" He taunted and slammed his electric fists together, causing slight sparks. The wolf roared at him in response and charged. Welkin locked his greaves into the ground and slammed his fist forward, as hard as he could into the alpha beowolf. The wolf was smacked hard, and a crack from the beast's chest told him of the damage he had done. Welkin powered on his spring and hydraulically loaded fist, providing an even harder punch to follow up. The beowolf stumbled back and roared, slipping away into the shadows. Welkin looked around and made a run for the flashlight. He grabbed the rifle and lifted it up, pointing around the room. The wolf had escaped...until it jumped at him from a blind spot. Welkin turned and fired immediately, the blast making his ears ring. The beast took the magnum round and bowled into the courier.

"Sneaky little jerk aren't you?!" He engaged the greave lock again and wrestled with the huge wolf. He knew he could not beat a fully grown alpha wolf at brute strength...but...

Welkin threw as much force as he could into the lock, stumbling the wolf away. The wolf let go and roared again for the umpteenth time...only to look at the flashbang where the courier once stood. The blinding flash ruined the wolf's eyes, too accustomed to the darkness to adjust for it immediately. Welkin fired another round into the neck of the beast, before jumping at it. Welkin slammed he armored left elbow down on the beast, causing it to lose its balance. He got it in a headlock and locked the armor to hold him still, as he pounded the beasts head in with his free hand. Each successive hydraulic punch slowly caved the face in, as Welkin screamed and punched as hard as he could. The beowolf stopped struggling, as Welkin dropped the body and unlocked his gear. He unclenched his fist and stretched slightly, staring down the beast.

"Yeah? And stay dead." Welkin kicked the beast and smirked before going back to pick up the rifle. He shined the light back on the black box that Professor Ozpin had showed him. He picked up the note next to it and read it:

'Dear Captain Tellius,

As promised, you shall become the next colonel in charge of the Alistier line. I would like to congratulate you with a gift of power. Consider it a boon from our faction, and a blessing to your future career. You do not need to worry about General Aleksander finding out as well. We wish you the best.

- RT'

Welkin pocketed the note and looked at the device. It hummed and stuttered, powered barely with a black crystal. He slammed his armored fist down onto the device and destroyed it, taking the black crystal with him. He grabbed a backpack radio that leaned against the side, adjusting the straps on his back. He dusted himself off and double checked his injuries from the fight with the alpha wolf.

"Good enough. Let's get outta here." Welkin turned and ran out down the dark hallway. He could hear the bestial roars coming from behind him, as if the alpha's pack had realized their leader was dead.

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Welkin unbarred the door and ran out, making his way back to the other side. The Nevermore returned and sprayed more feathers at him. He dived forward and continued running across the way, before pounding on the door where the Lieutenant was waiting. "Open up! I'm back! Hurry up 'fore a Death Stalker mulches me!" The door quickly unlocked and Welkin ran inside. A single feather nailed the door and pierced the metal, scaring the day lights out of both the men.

"Welcome back, good to see you're not dead." Lieutenant Davidson pulled the courier to his feet and dusted him off. "You look like you fought a bear."

"No ursa, those are easier. Friggin Alpha Beowolf in the dark. I found your captain...he's dead."

"Dang it, I knew it wasn't going to be good news. I guess that makes me in charge now."

"Any other survivors?" Welkin and Davidson moved back to the wounded room. There were certainly more soldiers than before, and more supplies gathered up.

"Yeah, bunch came over from the underground. A few of my messengers DID make it through apparently. Corporal Elliot, fix up the courier here. What did you find? Anything useful?"

"I know who caused your base to shut down. It was the Captain." Welkin handed the Lieutenant the letter he had taken.

"I knew the captain was a jerk...but this is just a whole new level...it really puts Colonel Marius' death in perspective. Now that was a good leader..." The lieutenant handed back the letter.

"Watch the underground, The beowolves might be running around down there. If you do go down there bring weapons and light." Welkin advised as the medic fixed him up. The lieutenant called over to some men and ordered them to secure the tunnels to the makeshift base.

"Does that radio work?" Welkin pulled off the radio and gave it to the lieutenant, who fiddled with it.

"Nope. Dead...but I think I can repair your radio with the scrap from here." Welkin nodded as the communications officer took the radio away to fix his. "Want some frank and beans?" The lieutenant offered him a can of chili beans and sausages. welkin nodded and took the can, pulling the lid open. He took a metal spork from his message bag out to eat.

"Thanks." Welkin took a bite in and retched, "What in god's name...you guys eat this stuff?! It's...it shouldn't even be edible!" The lieutenant laughed.

"You need to keep your energy up regardless. Any food is better than none." Welkin nodded and continued eating. He stayed quiet as the soldiers moved about, doing whatever they could to survive longer. Welkin ate in silence and took a sip from his canteen, watching people work on surviving.

"Lieutenant! I got the radio working! It's a miracle!" Welkin stood up and walked over, "But I can't access it. Courier's only model, even though the units share parts."

"Here, let me." Welkin activated the radio and put in his recognition material. He scanned the channels carefully. "It sounds like the rest of Alistier is suffering from this too. I'll try the EMTC channel." Welkin switched the radio to EMTC-44. The white noise hurt his ears as the comms officer rerouted it to channel nine. He nodded to the communication officer, as it had cleared up somewhat.

"This is Four-Thirteen. I repeat, this is Four-Thirteen! Does anyone copy. Thi is a courier from Star of Polaris transmitting from Firebase Magnum. We've got wounded and require immediate assistance. Any assistance would be apprecaited! Too many grimm!"

Welkin waited for a reply, but there was no response. "Firebase X-ray, Firebase Heyman, do you copy? What's your status?" The lieutenant borrowed the microphone from him. "Firebase X-ray! Firebase Heyman, this is acting commander Davidson, does anyone copy?"

There was no response.

Welkin sighed as Davidson passed the microphone back. "I'll try again with the couriers..." Welkin tapped the radio slightly. "This is Four-Thirteen. I repeat, this is Four-Thirteen! Does anyone copy. Thi is a courier from Star of Polaris transmitting from Firebase Magnum. We've got wounded and require immediate assistance. Any assistance would be apprecaited! Too many grimm!"

It was then he heard a very familiar voice reply.

"Welkin! Hey Welkin! What's going on?" Ramirez called back.

"What the heck? Ramirez, how the heck do you know this channel? Aren't you back in Vale?"

"Clean up your signal, I do not copy. Over." Welkin waved to the communication officer, who fiddled with the device some more. After some feedback and crackling, he continued.

"This is courier Four-Thirteen. I repeat, can you hear me now?"

"Yeah, Welkin, good to hear you. What's going on over there? A bloody war?" Ramirez asked. Welkin couldn't tell if he was asking it like a joke or not.

"You bloody well know it. Something happened. It's like all the dust in the area shut down. Nothing's working except my radio and bike here. The big guns they installed stopped so now they're just flooding us with everything." A roar came from the tunnels. "Someone get down there and reinforce the tunnels! Now!" The lieutenant ordered soldiers to go downstairs. "Been trying to connect with Firebases X-ray and Heyman, but they're offline too."

"I see. Hey we have some questions for you."

"It better be important. And who's-" Welkin turned around to hear the door being busted. "Don't let them get too close!" He gestured for some soldiers to go protect the door. "Look, I can't really just idly cha-"

"It's us, Crasher! Are you alright?" Yang interrupted.

"Yang? What the-what happened? Why are you guys calling me? This is an EMTC!"

"What was in that package that you gave Professor ozpin? We need to know! Someone tried assassinating him!" Yang yelled into the microphone. Welkin winced and rubbed his ears lightly, the lieutenant and comm officer confused.

"Yang! No need to yell! I've got headphones on! Oh -oh shit NEVERMORE! It's coming back to break the door, everyone needs to get a weapon and fight it off!" Welkin grabbed his rifle and the two followed him to the main door. There was a heavy clawing on the door. Claws carved into the metal door. Welkin stuck his rifle through one of the larger holes and fired everal times into the bird. The bird cried loudly as the bullets ripped into it. "So what? What do you want to know?"

"What was in the box Welkin, was it really important?"

"Impossibly so, I still don't know if I should tell yo-"

"Mister Fenrir, as acting headmaster I demand you tell me what was the contents of that package. These girls believe it is linked to Professor Ozpin's assassin." Goodwitch interjected.

"...they tried to kill him? Holy mackerel, they were a lot more serious than I thought then." Welkin fired out the door again blindly, "I'll keep this brief. Faustus' Box. That's what it was. It's a device that could apparently overload dust...wait a minute...over load dust...OH CRUDE! Yang! You guys need to secure that thing immediately! I know why everything is shut down in Alistier. For the safety of Vale you need to keep that device from being stolen and used!" Welkin stared at the radio in disbelief, the two soldiers had gone to reinforce the lines and left the courier to his conversation.

Welkin heard some conversing while he watched the door. A beowolf stuck its arm through and Welkin fired into the beast's chest from one of the other holes.

"Welks, can you get to your bike? You need to get out of Alistier! It sounds like hellfire there. Most of the couriers we tried connecting to stopped responding." Welkin laughed internally at the tremendous understatement. And then realized...

"What about these people here? I can't simply leave them to die." Welkin asked. A man was making his way toward the door when a Nevermore dragged him off.

"If you stay you're going to die!" Welkin fired again at another Nevermore that tried to claw the door open. "Welkin! Seriously!"

"Yeah. Alright...alright. I'll...I'm gonna warn you, if Alistier is like this it might take me a while to get back to Vale. Watch yourselves, something is wrong here. The enemy might try and do the same thing to Vale!" Welkin left the door and grabbed some gear for the journey.

"Alright Welkin, I recommend taking route Twelve all the way down. You could probably catch a train on the way that'll cut through Forever Fall. If that does't work use route 99 and ride it all the way to Vale." Welkin checked the data pad in his waist pouch, checking the map update.

"Take extra dust if you do that, you probably won't have the fuel." Ramirez finished.

"I'll see you all later. I don't think I'll be able to contact you guys 'till I'm within calling range, so good luck until then eh? Four-Thirteen, out!" Welkin walked back over to the temporary command table and set the radio onto it. Lieutenant Davidson returned from the tunnels.

"What's going on? Any help?"

"Unfortunately no. Here. This radio is for you guys to use. You guys can have it to keep trying to communicate."

"Thanks. We'll try and keep alive and contact base. What are you going to do courier?"

"Gotta go back to Vale. Gotta go warn them."

"Why? The fight's here man." The comm officer returned to work on the radio as Welkin packed up.

"Because if I don't go back with the message they're gonna have it happen to them too. As much as I want to go gung ho and fight them, we need to prevent them from doing it to other places. Vale is more populated than here you know."

"Still, we could use a fighter like you here man...but I won't stop you. Your bike is over there right?"

Welkin looked out the scratches on the door. His bike was left untouched, but there were beowolves milling about. "Yeah, surrounded by wolves."

"Need some cover?"

"That would be nice, but unnecessary. I don't want you guys to stick yer neck out for me any more than necessary. Lieutenant...good luck. You'll need it." Welkin saluted informally and prepped himself for the run.

"You'll need it more for this. Ready? Go go go!" Davidson opened the door and Welkin burst out and tackled down the nearest beowolf. He slammed his fist into it and crushed it's skull against the pavement before continuing down the way. The beowolves spotted Welkin and communally roared at him before charging at the fool. Welkin skidded to a halt and punched the first one into the one behind him before running over it. He shouldered a beowolf out the way and continued running when he heard the caw.

One of the flight of Nevermores turned around at strafed at him, attempting to put a sharp feather in him. Welkin dived forward...but a feather managed to clip his thigh. Welkin stumbled forward a bit but kept running, the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He punched another beowolf that tried to pounce on him out, and jumped onto the bike. He activated it and roared off. The Nevermore kept chasing as he roared down the route. He pulled his goggles on with one hand and looked behind him to see the huge bird of prey stalk him. The Nevermore flew over head and turned to spray some feathers at him. Welkin swerved and serpentined to avoid being nailed to the floor. Welkin pulled out his sniper rifle with a free hand and fired back, hoping to deter the bird from following him too far. The rounds whizzed near the bird, and it cawed again. It dove, attempting to dive bomb the courier.

Welkin looked up to see the bird in a hard dive. He immediately broke as hard as he could, stopping just short of the Nevermore's claws. The bird took off again as Welkin fired at the it. Welkin turned his bike straight and continued driving. He looked behind him again to see the bird enter another dive. Instead of braking this time however, Welkin gunned his engine and activated the supercharger. "Comon Merlina, don't fail me now." He roared down the road, with the low flying Nevermore still in tow. He gained some distance from it thanks to the engine and quickly braked. He swerved sideways and lifted his sniper rifle. Welkin pulled the trigger and a magnum round entered the bird's eye by luck. The bird stumbled and hit the floor, rolling several times hard. It skidded to a stop in front of Welkin, still alive but crippled. Welkin lowered his rifle and fired several more times into the bird's head before reloading and putting his rifle away.

"Damned birds." He checked the fuel state and decided to go find a dust station that might be able to provide him with some fuel. He roared off down the road, heading towards Route Twelve and later Route 99.

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Post Notes:

Well. That was enjoyable to write. These two parts have actually given me quite a lot of killed time. I hope everyone enjoyed reading this. Let me know if there's any inconsistencies or problems and I'll get it fixed or try and clarify.

_Encyclopedia Entry:_

_Firebases: Attempts to combat the grimm and protect borders led to the creation of these complexes. Firebases are, simply put, bases that have gratuitous amounts of fire power. Most bases are dust powered, armed with a complement of powerful cannons and men. Effectively a barrier of guns, these fire bases have kept cities safe from grimm assaults. Examples of firebases include Magnum, X-Ray, and Heyman. _


	8. Part Six: For What and Why? (A)

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY and whatnot, as usual. I'd like to lay claim on the originals though.

Intro Notes: Well, here we are again. Part Six. I think it's safe to say that I'm almost halfway there. I'm loving this little project of mine, even if it breaks lore badly and or is poorly written. Here's a spotlight on the villainous side of things and what they've been up to. There's going to be more of them to come, so I think now's a good time to go into my OC villains a little deeper.

Like usual, please enjoy!

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**Chapter Two: Devil's Four**

Part 6: For What and Why?

Side A: Liberation Day

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_Chris was sitting on a bench on the roof of Signal, enjoying lunch time with peace and quiet. He had meant to go and get lunch, but the line was too absurdly long. An hour was plenty to line up...if you wanted garbage for food. He just enjoyed the breeze of the cool fall noon, keeping to himself. Then Welkin happened._

_"The look of contemplation on your face is oddly serene in light of things." Welkin appeared and dropped a tray with a hot burger and fries on it. Chris grinned and looked at it while Welkin propped down next to him and gave him a carton of milk._

_"Nice. How'd you this?" Welkin bit into his burger and chewed for a bit, holding a hand as if saying hold on._

_Welkin swallowed the chunk of meaty burger and smirked, "It helps to know a good few people. Got to the front of the line faster than others and put in an order. Ketchup?" He offered a small packet his friend._

_Chris took the packet gratefully and took a bite, savoring it. He thought to himself 'Well, I guess I don't go hungry today.'_

_"So my man, what do you think you're gonna do when this is all over? Signal ain't gonna last forever." Welkin asked him as he wolfed down the burger._

_"I actually don't know...I didn't think so far ahead. What about yourself Crasher?"_

_"There any doubt tex? Beacon! All the way." Welkin gave a thumbs up as he munched down on some fries. Chris picked at his fries, grinning at his friend's enthusiasm. "I live for battle my friend, I ain't gonna pick any other job man!"_

_"Yeah, more like you can't do anything else except punch things." Chris took a quick jab at him. Welkin feigned being hurt._

_"Oh, Chris, you hurt me! You know how damned well I scored in medicine. I got the touch I tell ya."_

_"Yeah, it's too bad the ladies don't believe you." _

_"At least I ain't antisocial. Man, one touch? I could get ladies swarmin' me!" Welkin clapped his hands together cheerfully, taking a sip from his milk afterwards._

_"Yeah? Then my friend why aren't they? You've been combat medic for several squads already and ye haven't got a damn." Chris finished his food off._

_"I dunno. My irresistible charm seems to be rubbing off on people. Remember my date for prom?"_

_"Dude, you got ditched and you know it. We ended up going out for a night of shooting at the range. Was pretty funny actually, you in a tux just blattin targets away. Pretty pissed up till we started."_

_"Yeah well...you'd be too if you were in my shoes man. Hey if you don't got any plans, why don'tcha apply to Beacon with me? We're a team buddy! Always."_

_"Yeah I know. What is it? You, me, Mike and Sunny...oh and sometimes Erin."_

_"It ain't often, but it works. I'm on the frontline. Mike doin his thing in the shadows. Sunny dancing in the background. And of course you my man. What better man to give a rifle than you eh? Eh?" Welkin nudged him a bit, "We all know yer the best shooter at medium or close range. And that's only cause Erin and I dominate long range."_

_"Yeah well you guys are cheaters. A 5.56 isn't going to do anything at 800 plus meters. Especially compared to a .338 Magnum or 14.6 Mil."_

_ Welkin shrugged and patted his shoulder, "Shoulda gotten a backup. Just like how I should've built a shotgun in class as well."_

_"Qrow wasn't gonna let you do that man. Too much gun for one person. Not to mention he was already iffy about the design of your gauntlets."_

_"Yeah? Well thanks to your mathematical wisdom and a little duct tape everything came out well in the end." Welkin tapped the metal gauntlets next to him. It had a brand new glossy sheen on it, and the servos and motors clacked occasionally in idle. "That being said...I thought of something. I want yer opinion on it 'cause you're better with smaller bullets." Welkin pulled out a blueprint of some sort of handgun. It was blocky, like the stature of one of them, and it looked exceedingly heavy._

_"What the hell is that? A brick? Bricks don't shoot bullets idiot." Chris chided and took a look over. The ballistics were all together and theoretically the mechanism would work...even with such a big round. "Dude, a .44 Magnum? That's overkill."_

_"Ain't no such thing. What do you think? Was build a pair, one white and one black. You know, one for each of us."_

_"The round is impractical. Especially if you're modding it the way you are now."_

_"Nah! It'll work! I promise you. Heaven or Hell this thing will work."_

_"Here, lemme take over the design work then. Yours sucks. I don't want to be weighed down by a stupid brick when I try to kill something." Welkin nodded at him as Chris tucked the blueprint away. They continued chattering on about random subjects to the end of lunch, usually with Chris taking jabs at how slow and bulky Welkin makes things._

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Chris woke up as there was a knocking on the door. He pulled himself out of bed and yawned, opening the door. He yawned and looked at the person blearily, "Morning?"

"It's afternoon Chris, did you sleep all morning?"

"Yeah yeah...why? What's today?" The woman just raised an eyebrow at him and shook him a few times.

"It's that day! Come on...Here, I brought you some food." She passed him a brown bag with a hamburger and fries as well as a root beer float. "Wake up sleepy head!"

Chris blinked a few times and stared at his gifts as the woman made herself at home at the motel's table. She placed her heavy box next to the table down with a thud and walked over to the wardrobe. "What's going on? Who are you?"

She frowned and shook her head, "Just...just eat, you'll wake up soon enough." Chris just sat down, confused as all heck, and began eating. He munched on his food tiredly, reminiscing about the times from back at Signal while the girl pulled stuff out of the wardrobe and tossed them onto the bed. "Seriously? Still sleepy?"

"No...not really. You can stop yelling now Erin." Erin smiled broadly at him and pulled off her fuzzy coat, hanging it off the side of a chair before fixing her turtle neck.

"Good. We need to get moving and be ready in half an hour." She picked up some clutter on the bed and walked over to the table, reloading some 14 millimeter rounds into a huge box magazine.

"For what? I'm not that awake..."

"You...you told me to meet you. You said you had a job lined up..." Chris thought for a moment...oh wait.

"OH CRUDE. Why didn't you wake me up earlier?!" Chris jumped from his chair and ran to check his phone. He flipped the holoscreen and looked at it. Twenty-five messages, six missed calls, and three voice mails...all from Erin Maxswel. "Oh..."

"Exactly..." Erin cleaned up the rest of her stuff. "Get dressed, or rather, put on your pants at least. We've gotta get to the bell tower." Chris looked down at his boxers, awkwardly.

"Right. Where's my..." Chris looked at the stuff Erin laid out neatly for him. "Thanks." He got cleaned up and dressed to kill, hanging a pair of binoculars around his neck. "Got what you need?" Erin nodded and tapped the huge case next to her. "Let's go then..."

The two left the motel, heading for the tower. "So what were you dreaming about to have slept so long?"

"Just stuff. It was a nice dream to have..."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up during -those-..."

"NO! It's not that! It's just the past and Signal and all. Just remembering the time Welkin convinced me to help him build Heaven and Hell."

"Oh, those handguns right? I was always jealous of those...they were so nice!"

"I dunno, your revolver is scary as all hell. I thought you'd prefer that." Chris pointed at the huge box-like revolver at her side. "I mean, it's as if you took his design and ramped it up to ten."

Erin shrugged slightly, "I might have taken some notes from him...okay...alright I don't want to do this..." Erin looked at the huge, daunting, staircase to the top. Chris shook his head and sighed, before proceeding up the stairs.

XxXxXxXxXxX

After a bit (in other words a lot) of stair climbing, the two emerged at the top of the bell tower.

"Not doing that. Ever. Again." Chris sat down to give his legs a rest, leaning against the side of the tower.

"I'm...totally with you there." Erin plopped the heavy equipment down and wiped some sweat from her brow. "You're such a gentleman to not offer to help me carry this thing up all the way." Erin smiled at him sarcastically as she took a drink from her water bottle.

"You're very welcome. Where is this target now..." He checked his watch and memory, "Okay, so he'll be here in maybe ten minutes. So we have time to set up."

"Sure..."

Chris set up a binocular on a tripod as Erin unpacked the massive box. He pulled out a note from Miltia and read it:

'Dear Chris,

Attached is the information on General Delanoir. He will be approaching from the marked street in the indicated direction. We suspect he will be under heavy guard, as he is the leader of the movement. Melanie recommends the bell tower as an outpost. Junior managed to pull some strings and get Erin to come along, so she shall meet you there. Good luck! Come home safe, there's going to be lasagna when you come back.

- Miltia'

"Heh...I don't mind that..." Chris put the note away and pulled out the map behind it, handing Erin a photo of the general.

"Huh...cat ears." Erin scanned the photo and handed it back, finishing up the tripod setup. She hefted the heavy anti-material rifle and locked it into place, loading a 14 millimeter shell into it. Erin cleaned the scope off with a cloth and locked it into place.

"Hey...I never asked...but what do you have to gain from helping us?" Chris looked at Erin seriously for a moment, "I mean, you seemed happy with that librarian job, and here you are being our go to sniper."

"I...Liberation. I want the day people can be free of social norms and constraints. I want people to be people." Erin said.

"Wait, what? But aren't people evil? They'll kill each other and cause harm to one another without a doubt."

"Perhaps, if you were to believe that point of view. No...I think men are genuinely good. I believe that people are not complete monsters...when they're truly free. Given other constraints, such as economical barriers, people would become evil. But I believe that if there were to be disaster, it would bring out the best of mankind." Erin smiled at Chris, who could only raise an eyebrow at how idealistic the woman was.

"I see..." Chris adjusted the binoculars.

"How about yourself? It was you after all, who caused the chaos at Signal."

"I...I don't know what you're talking about." Chris replied, earning the sharp gaze of Erin as a result.

"Do not lie."

"I'm telling the truth Erin. I don't know what you're talking about. I barely survived that myself."

"Then explain to me why you were making such an illegal substance at the school gym?"

"That wasn't for me, that was-" Chris stopped, realizing his slipup, "Enough questions. We have a target to kill." Chris pointed at the car that had just arrived at the target location. He saw the general leave the car and stand in the fresh air of Serjeva Square. "Distance, 1714 meters. No wind for once. Think you can do it?"

Erin clicked her tongue and adjusted the scope carefully, changing the minute of angle. "He's far."

"Harder 'n your previous target by a long mile. He can probably sense us." Chris refocused his lense, "Fire when ready." He heard Erin stop breathing suddenly, before a loud bang deafened his ears. "AAGH! COM'ON!"

"I thought you had ear plugs on!" Erin replied, still focused down the sight. The massive round tore through the sky and struck the general in the head. A fine mist appeared instead as his body flopped to the ground.

"Ow...ow...alright...uh...good hit. He's gone. That means step two of our plan can get into motion." Chris packed up his binoculars and gear. Erin proceeded to empty the chamber and disassemble the rifle for travel. "We're going back to Vale now. White Fang should be realllly pissed now. They're going to suspect humans did it."

"Where do I go now?" Erin asked as they started descending.

"Vale...I think he wants you at the industrial district. Over-watch duty as per usual. I'll be heading over to the commercial district to make sure nothing interrupts our plans." The two exited the building to find a group of...rather angry faunus armed with swords and batons waiting for them.

"The general suspected you scum would try and assassinate him." The leader said, lifting the club over his shoulder.

"Oh I didn't know gorillas could speak, let alone think." Chris taunted. The leader charged at him and brought his club down hard. Chris dove to the side and pulled out his handguns, a G18 and a .45 Standard to bear. He fired several times into the bigger man's chest, dropping him instantly.

"You'll pay for that!" Another one ran and tried to stab him while he was down, but Chris simply fired at his sword arm and rolled away while he reeled in pain.

"Hang on, I'm getting a report saying they actually did manage to kill Delanoir! These people must be taken to justice!" One of the faunus in the back cried, earning a cheer from the others. Another group of faunus who had been nearby joined the group, armed with improvised melee weapons.

"You killed our leader! Our inspiration! You humans are all monsters! We were only tired of being pushed around!"

Then a voice came from a human mob that had formed, "NO! You are all animals! The amount of violence your group spreads is savage! And you all should be put down!"

Chris reloaded his handguns as Erin ran over to him and tapped his shoulder, gesturing to their extraction vehicle. The SUV's driver gestured for them and the two made their way over stealthily, as the mobs for both sides grew. They had loaded up and began leaving when someone had throw a rock at one of the groups. Violence erupted from the two mobs as they began a terrible melee. Chris grinned at the driver while Erin watched the clash in the back seat. "From chaos rises peace, no?"

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Breaking news: we here at Vale News Network has just been alerted of a full scale riot occurring in the streets of Serjeva. Violence broke out between the faunus and human population when the assassination of one of White Fang's leaders General Diamat Delanoir happened. The group declared earlier that it would no longer tolerate the mistreatment of Faunus. According to another member of White Fang, the elimination of 'the weak link' in their group would only bolster their resolve to obtain equality by force. The riots have spread to other places near Serjeva, with several protests springing up in Vale. Police has yet to clash with these protestors, but authorities are expecting the worst. Residents are recommended to avoid areas of protest for their own safety. This is Vale News Network, bringing you all the latest news."

Torchwick smiled at the television and turned back to look at the large map. The industrial, commercial, residential, and port was circled in bright red, and there were other labels on the map. He used his cane to move a two markers on the map, one in the shape of a target and the other in the shape of a kitten. He looked at the folder from Junior and moved a Star of Polaris marker down Route 99. He moved a giant O back into Beacon, next to the G. J and M&M were still where he expected them to be, there was no sense in moving any of them after all. He smiled to himself as he moved three of the rook pieces into their respective zones, leaving one behind at a box off shore.

"Just one more..."

Torchwick turned around and looked at the contraption before him. It was ready...it just lacked the trigger. A trigger Ozpin had...but who would he give it to? Torchwick frowned and shrugged. Everything will fall into place. The biggest heist in Vale...no, it was not a heist. It was something much bigger. He pulled out his phone and answered it when it began buzzing. "Yes?"

"Phase one done. The faunus should start rebelling now." Chris told him.

"Excellent. Still doubt the capabilities of my crew?" Torchwick lit a cigar slowly.

"Of course. I don't trust you completely after all. To do so would require me to be very foolish. That part is done, I believe you arranged for us to go certain places?"

"Indeed. Lady Erin has her orders, as do you. You'll like what comes next. Crassius Street Market will be first, and then the rest. I may change your orders, depending on whether or not I get more information from Junior." Torchwick puffed his cigar and looked back at the map. A minion had just delivered to him a new case of crystals. He gestured for him to begin inserting them into the machine.

"And the Boxes?"

"In due time my friend...in due time. Until then, good day." Torchwick ended the call.

XxXxXxXxXxX

_Chris was screwed. No amount of help could save him. Welkin had promised to get him some money of some kind, but he had yet to receive a dime. He owed a lot of money from his endeavor that failed. So now...here he was brewing that stupid drug. It wasn't right to make, not by a long shot. He learned it the hard way when his first test batch caused a bunch of druggies to murder each other out of sheer blood rage. _

_Chris stirred the barrel and threw in something else. He was gonna get in trouble if anyone found out. He covered it with a lid and wired it up with a handmade explosive. He figured no one was going to use the gym this late, and decided to call it a night. _

_Ah Welkin, his friend who was supposed to be his friend. He had no idea what the dude was up to. He had thought he was rich enough to help him out...but he knew at the same time Welkin was simply lower to middle class. Still, he should have been there to help him with those men. Away was what he said. Happened before. Welkin, although good hearted, was sometimes just not there. He gone back to their room to find Welkin missing. Huh, strange..._

_"Welks? You there man?" No reply. Chris shrugged and sat down at his computer to play a game. About thirty minutes later, his phone began ringing. He picked it up...and someone had triggered the door. Chris dropped what he was doing immediately and bolted for the gym. He opened the door to see the room littered with training dummies. He recognized the damage done and called out._

_"Welkin, you there?" Chris saw the bigger guy coming out of the very same supply closet. He waved to the teen._

_"Yeah, I'm right here tex." Chris approached and looked around, looking at the handiwork of Vermillion Blitz._

_"You seemed to have been busy." Chris kicked the head of one of the robots, "Gonna clean up right?"_

_"Yeah but man, dude there was a barrel of glowing stuff in there. I don't know if I even wanna get close to that." Chris raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. _

_"Ya outta be careful. It's probably not osmething safe..." Chris hoped the trigger didn't activate on the bomb._

_"Yeah probabl- Hey what's that humming noise?" _

_The hum grew louder and louder, and the room seemed to vibrate. The canister began producing a thumping sound, like a sledgehammer against the floor. "Get the fuck out!" Chris called and the two turned to run. The canister stopped humming and exploded, engulfing the two and destroying a large portion of the training hall._

_Chris awoke a few minutes later. he could hear the cracking of limbs and people screaming as...something tore into them. It laughed like a demon and snapped something. He could hear the hydraulics hiss and fix themselves...wait...hydraulics._

_Chris pushed a bit of debris off of him and tried to move. He knew something was broken, but he didn't care for what just yet. He had to see. Had to know. He looked past some of the debris he had managed to get free and see Welkin tearing into some spectators. Yang had come in to try and stop him, and he stormed off after her. His drug had caused his friend to go berserk...by his hands. Chris shook his head in denial. No, it was his fault that he got too close and triggered it. It was all his fault, like usual. _

_"Oh crude, ooooh boy oh no." Chris dragged himself out of the debris as quickly as he could. He held onto his wounds and looked around. He couldn't be found near here. They would definitely trace it back to him. He decided then. He had to go. Chris ran as fast as he could away from the scene. He gathered gear from his room and quickly packed it all away into a duffle bag. He opened the locker he and Welkin shared and cleaned it out. He took stock before he left. His assault rifle sword, which he lovingly called the Sunkiss, and Heaven. He looked at the big magnum (Welkin insisted that it stayed ridiculously big to keep the intimidation factor) and reminisced. He packed it all away with ammunition._

_He laughed to himself, "Maybe I could go out and be a hunter." Chris put everything away and grabbed Welkin's medical kit. He took a painkiller to ease the pain enough...and then ran. _

XxXxXxXxXxX

Chris was startled awake again. They were still in the car on the way to Vale. Erin was knitting a bright white and pink scarf in the seat across of him. Chris fixed himself up and looked out the window. They were at some station, getting fueled up to go to Vale. He stretched slightly and nudged the basket of yarn off the chair by accident.

"Hey! Pick that up." Erin huffed as the yarn began tangling up on the floor. Chris bent over and passed the yarn balls back over. Erin continued knitting afterwards. "Bad dream?"

"Nah...it was just remembering when I left Signal..."

"I remember that. You disappeared that night...only to reappear as the masked ranger 'Don Juan.'" Erin teased.

"Hey! I thought it was cool at the time. And I was doing good. Mostly. I had a pretty good mercenary group too."

"And now you're doing this. Again, what for?"

"It's because I want to. I have my reasons."

"You realize what this plan of yours is causing right? You and Torchwick?"

"Why do you sound like you're doubting the plan? You agreed to this and you said you wanted it."

"I am not doubting it...I am just worried for what you want. I want freedom at any cost. Be it that means blood will be spilled on every side. And I'll stand by that." Erin put away her knitting equipment and pulled out a bottle of soda from the back of the car. She tossed one to Chris who immediately opened it and took a sip.

"Just as long as you know how much blood we're going to spill. Remember what Torchwick wants. He wants to set the world on fire..." Chris watched as the minion refueled the car and prepped to leave. A man in a red coat with a distinctive red scarf pulled into the station. "Oh shit." Chris immediately ducked down below the window, to Erin's surprise. He peeked out slightly to see Welkin climb off the bike and go into the convenience store, looking extremely dusty and travel weary.

"Was that...?"

"Yeah. Hey man! We ready to go yet?" The minion looked up and nodded, finishing up the fueling. "I heard there's a blockade on Route 99. Let's take the cave passage that Roman pointed out. We gotta head to Crassius Market next."The minion nodded and capped the things. He returned to the car and started it up. Welkin stepped out of the store, yawning with a bottle of soda and a pack of chocolate cupcakes. The SUV left and Chris sighed in relief. "I'm so thankful he didn't see me."

"He looked too tired to care, honestly." Erin went back to knitting. "What's this cave passage?"

"Roman and his buddies have been using it to transport illegal goods left and right. They carved out a passage when they realized that Route 99 might be too dangerous to constantly use. This goes under the canyon, through a secure passage, and right back out near a spot by the highway. It's pretty convenient. It's how I've been getting my group arms and armaments."

"How is that group by the way?"

"Working under Torchwick for right now. I'm going to collect them and then head out to my location. Until then Erin? I'm going to bed." Erin slapped his leg sharply. "OW! Why?"

"You knocked over my yarn again."

XxXxXxXxXxX

Notes: Hmm...did I do it properly? I might have screwed up on these two. If it dissatisfies me, I may just rewrite the chapter. Here we are again at the end. I would like to thank you all for taking the time to read again. I hope you have enjoyed my efforts to write entertaining literature. Part 6B will be coming soon, as I have tons of time now to edit and work on it.

Side note: Erin's rifle is based off of a modified Panzerbuche 39 anti-tank rifle. It's got an added scope and the round has been changed to the Soviet 14.5mm. It's tripod or bipod mounted, and is really heavy because of that.

_Encyclopedia Entry:_

_Erin "PAC" Maxswel. Age: 17. Sex: Female. Hair Color: Black, red highlights. Eye Color: Light Brown_

_Height: Five Feet Two Inch. Weight: -record deleted- "I AM NOT -THAT- HEAVY!" have replaced the number_

_Bio: The first daughter of a fairly rich family. A genuinely kind hearted, if somewhat misguided, young lady that grew up around backstabbing political game playing families. Her family alone tore each other apart immediately after her grandfather's death. Erin originally was planning on going to a high class establishment, but decided to go to Signal instead. Her grandfather had taught her how to put a bullet in something far far away, and one of his dying wishes was for her to become a huntress. _

_At Signal, she exploited her ability to engage far away targets, leading to people joking that her rifle was not simply a rifle, but a particle accelerator cannon in disguise. At the shooting range, she was easily the top shooter, only occasionally losing her place to Welkin. On one occasion, she accepted a bet from a persistent student: five rounds, 2000 meter target. If she lost she had to go on a date with him. It was a fun day as ever, she was on her last bullet, and the guy was already beginning to gloat. It was right then and there, after the bang of her rifle, that they saw the target had literally disappeared. The teacher finally stopped it all because it was dragging on too long, and decided to nickname her "PAC." Erin found most of her field days involving sitting in a high place and waiting, and thus picked up knitting. At Signal she was usually partnered up with Chris, who had a keen eye when given binoculars._

_After Signal however, she was turned down from Beacon because she only truly specialized in long-range warfare. Too inflexible for actual huntress and hunter duty, and her rifle was too time consuming to set up for any operations. She ended up joining the librarian team and picking up sniper work on the side. With her family in disarray from inter family violence, she needed to take these sometimes questionable jobs to keep afloat. _

_Fighting Style: There is a distinct lack of fighting capability within her. While she's an extremely capable sniper, and more than able to knock off even moving targets at long range, she's quite lacking in any terms of melee. She carries a single stiletto in self defense, but she has yet to even use it once (not even for training.) She's more than capable of being too far to engage however, and thus she reasoned she does not need it. She carriers a revolver around, and unlike the stiletto actually practices with it._


	9. Part Six: For What and Why? (B)

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, but I would like to claim original ideas.

Intro Notes: Here we go again, the Storm Front rolls in. I'd like to thank you all for keeping with this and reading along. I'm honored to have you all here. I won't hold you all here long with my notes, so please enjoy Side B of Chapter 6: Storm Front.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

**Chapter Two: Devil's Four**

Part 6: For What and Why?

Side B: Storm Front

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Blake decided to stay inside for the day, rather than join the others for a day out around campus. She enjoyed her quiet time. It was downtime to think and contemplate over previous events. She was reading a novel about a king and his square table full of loyal companions. The book was essentially a laundry list of their achievements, but she found the tales quite fascinating. The platter of the rain against the window was also soothing, and she had some soft jazz playing on the stereo Ramirez had sent her. The low rumble of lightning made her look up from her desk and out the window, casting her gaze over the wet school grounds. A storm had rolled in earlier, and it soaked Vale with frigid rain. A part of her wondered if the others regretted spending a day walking the grounds and looking for places they have never been. Her thoughts were answered when the door swung open and a thoroughly soaked team walked in. Weiss was fuming.

"I thought you checked the weather today!" She rang out her hair gently into a towel she quickly retrieved.

"I did! I'm so sorry! I didn't think it would turn so bad so quickly!" Ruby apologized as she pulled off her soaked cloak. "It said it was going to be sunny this morning!"

"I dunno, are you sure you checked the news?" Yang asked as she ran a hand through her soaking wet mane. She didn't like getting it extremely wet. She pulled off the soaked jacket as well and stretched. "Dibs on shower!" The blonde bolted off before the other two could object.

"It seems as though you all had fun in the rain today. It must have been a splash." Blake joked and flipped another page. Weiss rolled her eyes as they heard Yang laughing in the bathroom loudly.

"You've been influenced by Yang a bit too much." Weiss replied and changed into fresh clothing. "Ugh, I like it cold but this is something else!"

"Well, until Yang gets out of the shower...I don't think we can shower yet. Maybe we can do something else? I mean, classes were canceled today because the teachers had some meeting to go to." Ruby had changed too and sat on her bed, drying her hair on a towel.

Then came a knocking on their door. Ruby got off her bed and answered it, "Oh, hey Jaune. What's up?"

"Did you guys see the news? Someone assassinated one of the heads of White Fang and now there's rioting going on! We've got the news playing on our television right now." Jaune gestured for the group to follow. The three shuffled out of their room and joined team JNPR to see what had occurred. Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren were sitting on a bed watching the news in their casual clothing.

The television was on in their room as the others checked joined in and watched. "Breaking news: we here at Vale News Network has just been alerted of a full scale riot occurring in the streets of Serjeva. Violence broke out between the faunus and human population when the assassination of one of White Fang's leaders General Diamat Delanoir happened. The group declared earlier that it would no longer tolerate the mistreatment of Faunus. According to another member of White Fang, the elimination of 'the weak link' in their group would only bolster their resolve to obtain equality by force. The riots have spread to other places near Serjeva, with several protests springing up in Vale. Police has yet to clash with these protesters, but authorities are expecting the worst. Residents are recommended to avoid areas of protest for their own safety. This is Vale News Network, bringing you all the latest news."

Everyone stared in aghast at the television. Protests and riots in the streets for rights? An open declaration of war? What had the world come to? Jaune looked at the others and asked, "Man...this is just so wrong...who would kill someone doing good?"

"It's because humans fear them, why else? And they're animals. They deserve to be shot for everything they've done!" Weiss crossed her arms and stood up. "I'm going to go see if Yang's done in the shower yet." She walked out the door.

"Hmmph. It's still a sad day. I heard that he did many things that helped the faunus community in both Serjeva and Vale. He's one of the most influential men, and he endorsed non-violence despite being with White Fang." Blake stood up from the bed.

"Thanks for showing us Jaune! I wonder what will happen now...you don't think people are going to try and hurt the Faunus now right? On campus that is?" Ruby looked at the others.

"I hope not...we're all equal here after all." Blake muttered and stood up. The two waved good bye to team JNPR, as they had to go on an assignment with Professor Port despite the storm. The two closed their room door to see Yang singing to herself. Weiss had apparently gone to shower.

"Like the smell of a rose on a Summer's day, I will be there to take all your fears away with a touch of my hand I will turn your life to gold!" Yang nodded along to the song as she went over things on her phone. The two looked at each other and Yang waved in acknowledgement.

"Someone's cheery, despite the rain." Blake smiled and returned to her desk to read.

"Hey! Takes more than just some rain to dampen my spirit!" Yang gave a thumbs up and laid back to listen to her music some more. "Where'd ya'll go?"

"Team JNPR's room, they were watching the news. Someone assassinated an important Faunus general, and now there are protests and riots going on apparently. It's like someone turned on the rebellion switch..."

"For good reason. They assassinated one of the better men. I just wonder who it was...and I wonder why." Blake muttered. Her ears perked up when her phone began vibrating. Blake picked up the phone hesitantly and looked at it...Adam. She thought for a moment. She had left that life behind. She had went to Beacon to get away from that level of fervor. She rejected the call immediately. She placed the phone aside and picked her book up again, only for the phone to start buzzing again. Blake rejected it again. And again after the next call. She growled in frustration at his persistence.

"Something wrong?" Ruby asked when her teammate threw the phone aside in anger.

"Yes! Well, no. No...just someone keeps trying to call me. I don't want to talk to him ever again." Blake sighed and rejected the call again. She had hoped to sever all ties with White Fang...

"Stalker problem? Here, lemme handle it." Yang leaned over her bed and held her hand out to receive the phone.

"I don't know about this..."

Yang smirked, "Trust me on this." Blake reluctantly handed the blonde her phone and she answered. "Sup? Who's calling?"

"...I do not recognize you. Who are you and why are you on Blake's phone?"

"Dude, I think you got the wrong number. Can you stop calling me? It's really creepy." Yang lied.

"I'm certain this is her number. Do not lie to me. Where is she? It's important, and we have to talk immediately."

"I'm telling you man, ya got the wrong number. Buzz off." Yang looked at her nails, still smiling. The other two just looked at her, clearly amused.

"Fine. Say what you will, I know this is her number. Give her the message 'Crasius Street Market, revolution is coming.'"

"Look buddy, just because you can't find your girlfriends number doesn't mean that I'm going to replace her. Stop calling me or I'll file a harassment report." Yang shut the phone and passed it back to Blake before Adam could answer.

"You could have just rejected him like I would have." Blake mused as she put the phone aside, no more calls coming through.

"Well, it had to be convincing. Otherwise we'll have to sit through you growling at how annoying the guy is. Also, he said 'Crasius Street Market, revolution is coming.' Know what he means?" Blake immediately shook her head. "Okay."

"...revolution? You're not part of White Fang still are you?" Weiss had returned from the bathroom and stared sharply at Blake. Blake just stared back and shook her head slightly. "Alright. Good...So what was that call about then? It was meant for you after all."

"I have no idea and I do not want to know."

"Must've just been some poor loser who was desperate enough to try calling someone over and over again in hopes of getting a date." Yang placed the headphones down, checking the time with her phone.

Then someone knocked on their door. Weiss opened it to see Jaune in full gear, as well as the rest of his team. "Hey, if you guys see Ruby, can you tell her we got a job to do and we can't hang out for game night tonight?" Weiss nodded at him, "Thanks! Okay, let's go find Professor Port."

"Welp!" Yang made a popping noise, "There goes our plans for tonight. What was their job I wonder? And why in the rain I wonder?"

"I don't know and I don't care. It's not our problem." Weiss went over to her bed to brush her hair.

The group did their own thing for a while. Yang hand decided to actually study for once, and was flipping through her (Blake's) notes. Blake had returned to her novel and Weiss idly brushed her hair. Ruby came back out of the bathroom and looked as if she had an epiphany.

"...Where's that box thing that Professor Ozpin wanted us to hold on to?" Ruby asked. The others looked at Blake.

"It's with me." She dug through her pockets to pull the box out. Blake held out the box for Ruby.

"Oh..okay...good. I don't know why I was so worried about it...it's just. In light of everything we really have to be careful with it right?" Ruby sighed in relief. The group muttered in agreement and went back to their activities, leaving Blake to put the box away.

Blake continued reading...but truth be told she was not genuinely interested in the book any more. Crassius Street Market...They couldn't really...could they? Were they really prepared to burn the city down to prove a point...? She couldn't condone their use of violence, their extremism. But at the same time, they had been making some progress. But, that progress was undone with the death of General Delanoir. Blake had to resist the urge to go. She really knew nothing good would come of it. But there was still that urge to see what had become of the movement.

Blake followed the others to the cafeteria for some dinner, her thoughts still on whether to go or not. She knew it was not in her best interest to go. And yet...and yet she was going anyway. She slipped away from the group and out the doors. She looked at the growing storm front. The rain pounded down on the grounds, becoming harder and harder with each passing minute. Blake looked behind her one last time, before disappearing.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Welkin stopped at a fuel station to pick up some more dust for the trip back. He had been driving for a long while now, almost non-stop. He was taking a break to eat a quick snack and refuel his bike. Welkin looked at the Star of Polaris delivery box nearby. Maybe...maybe he should check it. He walked over and opened it up with a slide of his key card. The messenger box opened...revealing nothing but a small metal box. Welkin took the package and examined it. "To Ozpin." Welkin narrowed his eyes and examined the box carefully. He shook the metal case gently, but there was no rattle. He was going to regret delivering this...

Welkin looked up after placing the box into his bag. He saw an SUV leave the station and continue off towards Vale. Welkin shrugged and took a sip from a bottle of soda, sitting on the bike for a break. He contemplated opening the package to see what was inside it for once. After all, the last time he carried something it had caused the end of Alistier. Welkin knew inside that it was his fault. He caused Firebase Magnum to fall. If he had checked his package for once like some of the other couriers...

No, he couldn't let himself sink into that. Wouldn't, sink into that line of thought. He was not going to compromise his morals because of curiosity, because he felt guilt over what had happened, otherwise he wouldn't be a courier. He was Thirteen. Unlucky, Jinxed, but still Thirteen.

What a dilemma. He was not sure what to do...so he decided to simply deliver the package and hope for the best. Welkin replaced the dust inside his motor bike and double checked it, making sure it was good to go.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Yang was the first to notice that Blake had disappeared. Normally the young woman would already be at the table, picking at some sort of fish or salad. She didn't eat much, so it was faster to get food...but where was she? Yang took a seat and reasoned that she might just be taking longer than usual, or had something to take care of. She took a bite out of her mashed potatoes and waited as the others filed in. Team JNPR was off on assignment and wouldn't be joining them.

"Huh...where's Blake?" Ruby asked as she sat down across her with a plate of cookies. Yang sighed and took the plate away from her, passing her a plate with an actual meal on it. Ruby pouted at this, "Hey! Comon!"

"Nope. Not going to hear it. You have to eat healthy otherwise you won't have the energy to fight." Yang kept the cookies away from her sibling.

"But I haven't had an all cookie diet!"

"Actually you had cookies this morning. And for lunch. And for a snack." Weiss pointed out, spearing an elusive carrot on her plate.

"Exactly. Uncle Qrow would kill me if I didn't take care of you. Eat up, you can have your cookies after." Yang placed the plate down next to hers, making sure Ruby would actually eat something. Ruby reluctantly began picking at her food, resting her head on her hand in disappointment. "Also, to answer your question, I thought she was with you guys."

"Huh? But she's usually ahead of us..." Ruby blinked a few times. Weiss put her fork down and looked at the two.

"You don't think she's actually gone to what that call said right?" Weiss asked the group. The others in team RWBY shrugged, unsure of what their elusive teammate would do. "You realize that she DOES have that -thing- right?!" The group stared wide eyed. "Exactly!"

"Oh crap." Yang rubbed her hand against her head. "We have to go find her!"

"Well no duh! Where was it you said someone told her to go?"

"Crassius Street Market. But how do we get out? We can't leave the school remember?" Ruby looked at the two.

"Hmm...well we could...alright. Here's what we'll do. What I'm going to suggest isn't within the bounds of legality...and it could get us in trouble big time." Yang placed her hands on the table. "We'll have to leave now. I remember seeing an airship docking on the way here, it should be leaving soon."

"What are we going to do?" Ruby tilted her head slightly.

"We're gonna stow away on the ship."

"What?! That's your master plan? I would feel safer if we just told Professor Goodwitch about it!"

"And get Blake in trouble? She's our friend. And besides, she's probably going to punish us all anyway! We have to do this. At least we will be able to say we went to go get her when we come back!" The blonde got up from the table, "So are ya with me?"

"...Fine! Let's do this then." Weiss and Ruby followed Yang out.

The group hurried across the grounds. The night was young, but the storm that had rolled in darkened the sky into a pitch black. They made their way near the air ship dock and crouched, looking at the loading area. There was a single worker unloading boxes of food. In fact, the dock was covered in boxes and barrels of supplies. The other workers had left to take a break apparently, as all that was left was a few sacks of food. They had snuck closer to the open port, using the boxes as cover. Yang knocked over a small pile of canned goods, distracting the dock worker. He moved over to pick up the cans, confused, as the group made their way into the ship...and right into Professor Ozpin.

Yang and the others froze solid at the gaze of the Professor, his small grin and piercing look like that of a medusa turning people to stone. "Good evening ladies. I see that you're out and about?"

"P-professor...we can explain!" Ruby began, but Ozpin held up a hand to stop her.

"I would rather not hear it, as it would make me an accomplice." He handed Ruby three tickets and gestured for them to ascend into the cabin. "Find her and make sure that device does not get in the wrong hands." The professor left to speak with the lone dock worker, as the three quickly ascended to the cabin, confused.

"Well...that's a thing." Yang muttered as she took a seat.

"How...did he know? That makes me worried." Weiss sat down across of her and crossed her arms, deep in thought.

"I don't think it matters. We have to find Blake first and make sure she's safe!" Ruby pulled out a cookie she nicked from the plate earlier and munched on it.

"You're right. She's our team mate. We have to find her before something bad happens." Weiss sighed and looked out the window, watching the ship slowly depart from Beacon towards the Commercial District.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Welkin stopped at the road block and looked at the soldier. "Seriously?" The road block was massive, spanning the width of the canyon, but built rather hastily. He could see some of the blockades looked like they were ready to fall.

"Yes. The Ridge is too dangerous to let anyone through. Among the faunus going wild and grimm going even more wild, we cannot let anyone through. We've got soldiers clearing the way, but it's going to be a while." The soldier shifted the weight on his back and gestured for another soldier to get something.

"You know this is like the middle of route 99 right? Just lemme through."

"I can't son. Too dangerous." Welkin sighed and got back onto his bike. An explosion rocked nearby. Gunfire erupted and the soldier gestured for Welkin to leave, "Get outta here kid. It's gonna get bad. We're going on the offensive." A nevermore cawed over head, screeching at the road block guards. An autocannon on a tripod began rattling and raked the sky with tracer fire.

Welkin turned his bike around, clearly annoyed. He drove away for a bit, considering his options. He was running out of supplies, really only with enough to make it through Route 99. Welkin could really only go back towards route 12 and wait...but for how long? He stopped as he saw something break down near the base. He grinned...oh this was going to be fun. He swerved the bike all around and stopped. He flipped a switch and gunned the engine. The Merlina 2 Engine roared to life as the dust compressors supercharged it. He adjusted the goggles and grinned, roaring into a wheelie and speeding off towards the now burning canyon line. He sped towards the entrance, the guard stared at him and waved for him to stop. The guard realized what he was doing: he was just going to jump over them. Welkin blew past the guard and onto the fallen building that was serving as his ramp, jumping the bike clear over the road block and the guards. He swerved slightly upon landing on the opposite side of the barricade and roared down the road.

The nevermore from earlier returned, screeching at them all. Welkin looked ahead at the smoke covered road. The military had started torching operations to burn out the grimm and faunus rebels hiding there. The trees of the Ridge were ablaze, the smoke billowing out endlessly. Welkin pulled up his scarf to filter the smoke out somewhat, hell bent on going through 'Vermilion Ridge' to Vale. He was needed there after all.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Notes: Thanks again for reading! If you feel there's an issue, do let me know. I'd be glad to clarify or change something accordingly.

Oh, I realized I never specified when this takes place. This is most definitely taking place after Season One. So I'm going to operate with the group knowing what Blake is and her past.

I've also been going back to old chapters and adding encyclopedia entries, notes, edits. Things to provide more back story or information. Encyclopedia Entries will always be after the notes. I'm debating switching their location, but I think it fits all the way down here. It's extra information for anyone interested in characters or areas I'm introducing. I believe I said that they wouldn't be in any particular order, so they're just bits and pieces of information to add more life to the story.

_Encyclopedia Entry:_

_The Ridge. The Ridge is a section along Route 99 that runs through Forever Fall. Considered one of the most dangerous of routes, it was carved there when men were less harassed by Grimm. It is still used occasionally by the braver of couriers, but most opt to use Route 12 and the train that runs with it. It is common knowledge that the Grimm flood the place. There have been rumors that White Fang operates in the area with small outposts, but there has not been substantial evidence to prove it, nor has there been enough evidence to warrant a search. People familiar to the region often call it 'Crimson Ridge' or 'Blaze Ridge' as during the summer the sun shines upon it in such a fashion that it seems as if it were made of blood trees. _


	10. Part Seven: Vermilion Ridge (A)

Disclaimer: As per usual, I don't own RWBY. I would like to claim originals however.

Intro Notes: Hello and welcome to the next part of Thirteen. I would like to thank you for coming this far with me (as I know that some of these chapters ARE pretty darn long.) I thought splitting it into different sides would decrease the amount I would write...NOPE. Totally wrong. In fact I write even more with two sides. For anyone curious, I actually do write both parts before I actually post them up, and I post them up...perhaps within a day or two of each other. Ah, but without further ado, welcome to Part 7, Vermilion Ridge.

XxXxXxXxXxX

**Chapter Two: Devil's Four**

Part 7: Vermilion Ridge

Side A: Blazing Ridge

XxXxXxXxXxX

Several explosions rocked the earth, adding more fire to the blazing ridge. The fires roared and torched the forest for miles. From Vale's wall, the smoke could be seen billowing out over the area; it's dark shadow enshrouding the canyon with darkness. People brave enough to approach the nearby area could hear the cries of the Grimm, calling out to the flame and smoke. Vale posted a portion of their military on Route 99, to prevent any grimm that may attempt to breach the city.

Welkin roared down the road on his bike. The echo of his engine drowned out by the sounds of the blaze. Welkin had his scarf covering his mouth and nose, drenched slightly to help prevent the smoke from being breathed in. He had his goggles on as he drove towards Vale. The final stretch. Welkin swerved and ducked as a tree branch almost landed on top of him. Several grimm approached him immediately as he stopped. Welkin slapped the side of the bike, opening up one of the backup compartments. He drew out the magnum Hell and immediately fired on the closest Beowolf. The large rounds sent it reeling backwards, but it was still standing. Welkin emptied the magazine into the beast before dropping the spent magazine out.

"Well, why aren't you dead yet?" Welkin grinned cockily as the beowolf staggered forward. It fell down shortly afterwards, face first in the smokey dust. The other wolves howled and charged, "NOPE! Not doin' this. Ain't got time for this!" Welkin turned his bike towards Vale and gunned it, leaving the wolves in the dust.

He continued going down the road for a few minutes longer (the wolves gave up the chase eventually,) when he saw something he really hoped wouldn't be there: a natural looking roadblock. He was so close to Vale too, just maybe a half a mile more to the canyon exit and another half to the city. He was too close to have to deal with a distraction like this.

Welkin got off his bike and approached the road block of trees and debris. He examined it closely when he realized...it wasn't natural. He dived away as a bullet impacted where his legs were, whipping out the rifle in the process.

"Courier Thirteen. You have something of ours." A man with a strange patterned mask and a really fancy black coat came out from the charred tree line. His hands rested on a rifle-katana mixture of some kind. Welkin immediately groaned.

"Nope, nothing for you buddy. What's with the curved swords by the way? Seems to be really popular." Welkin joked and took the rifle scope off, flipping up some back up sights.

"Don't. Toy. With us. We know you have the black crystal. Our cause needs it." The man jumped down in front of him. Welkin walked over to his bike, to keep it running. The man lifted the rifle, prompting Welkin to do the same. "The package to Professor Ozpin. Hand it over. I will not ask you again."

"Ooooh okay, so you want THAT. Well now, just give me your name so I can change the recipient." Welkin joked as he kept his sights on the masked man. "I can already guess you're with White Fang. The emblem gives it away. How's that revolution going by the way? Kill enough people to justify your cause?"

"A plebeian like you would not understand the plight of the Faunus. Hand over the crystal."

"Let me ask you then, oh so high and mighty Faunus. Do you know what the crystal does? Or is it just out of desperation you act?" Welkin grinned, enjoying the fact he was grating on the man's nerves.

"It is a weapon that will help us win. It will be the bringer of our salvation, and your doom." The man shifted to his Iaido style stance. Welkin sighed and shook his head.

"You're wrong. It won't bring you hope, it'll just bring everyone despair." Welkin lowered his rifle slightly. "And here I thought I was supposed to be the plebeian. Instead, here I find a person claiming to be a smart man, not knowing what this thing will do." The man bull rushed and unsheathed his sword, attempted to quick-draw and kill him immediately. Welkin stood his ground and instead deflected the strike by angling his left arm. He immediately followed up and threw a quick right hook at the man.

"Better than most courier's I've ever for. Certainly better than the one that I caught on the way to Serjeva." He placed the sword back in his sheathe again, circling the courier. A minion called out in the background that interrupted the two.

"Sir! The fire's spreading! We have to get back to base and prep operations!"

The man looked at the blazes that torched everywhere, mentally sighing as to how dumb minions could be. Of course the fire was spreading, it's already spread. He called back, "Everyone return to base and help with the evacuation. The storm front should arrive here soon as well. Head for Crassius Market." As if on cue the black smoke and rain clouds overhead rolled with thunder. The echoing boom produced the roars of several grimm. The squad retreated into the woods as fast as they arrived, leaving the man with Welkin.

"You're going to stay and fight me I take it?" Welkin had his fists raised, as the two circled each other cautiously.

"My objective is still incomplete. I still require the package." The man shifted his stance slightly. The two stared at each other, neither wanting make the first move. Welkin's heart beat raised dramatically as the adrenaline flooded his veins. Despite the drain of having to travel for so long, he could feel himself ready enough for combat. The feeling of fatigue dropped back slightly.

Welkin shifted and took a step forward. The other man reacted by taking a step back, still in Iaido stance. Welkin took another step forward, and the man reacted by shooting his blade forward at him. Welkin deflected the blade and immediately charged, attempting to shoulder tackle the thinner man. His opponent jumped over him and shot twice before retrieving his blade. The two shots impacted; the first shot grazed his armored left arm for no effect and the second round hit him square in the chest, damaging his solid armor and bruising him. Welkin shifted again, recovering from the injuries and raised his fists. "Fast."

Welkin charged again at the man. Again, the man shot his sword at him first and then proceed the jump, but this time the two met in mid air. Welkin immediately slammed his fist down on the man's right shoulder, causing a rather nasty pop to happen and the man to go falling into the ground. Welkin landed and immediately ran to try and elbow slam him while he was down.

The man rolled away quickly before the elbow and larger man could slam into him. He picked up his sword with his left hand, swinging and delivering a long horizontal slash on Welkin. He immediately shifted away to get some space away from the physically stronger fighter, his right arm limp from a badly dislocated shoulder. Welkin rolled back up and ran again, attempting to push his advantage. Then...a nevermore screeched.

A massive Nevermore, one bigger than any that he's ever seen, soared over head. It dropped its massive arrow like feathers onto the two. The masked man shifted and lifted his sword, the arrows landing around but not on him. Welkin was less fortunate. A feather managed to graze incredibly close to his leg, penetrating the armored greave and producing a rather nasty gash. Welkin stumbled on the charge...and right onto the man's blade.

Welkin felt the blade impact with him. He was still in range. He could end this bastard. Welkin immediately grabbed the masked man's right shoulder to hold him still. Welkin immediately brought up his right arm and began bringing it down on him, each strike cracking against the man's torso or arm. He finally slowed down, exhausted from the combination of travel, evasion, combat, and finally the blade through his chest. He dropped to a knee as the man drove the blade deeper, before withdrawing as quickly as he could. Welkin flopped onto the floor, on his back, his vision swimming and dulling.

The thinner man picked up Welkin's messenger bag and slung it over his shoulder, shifting from the weight. He had retrieved his sheathe just before, and he looked over the man who had injured him fairly badly. Welkin grinned slightly, as the rain reached the canyon finally to put out the blaze.

"Commendable fight. A part of me wishes this had not come to this, but now you reap what you sow ." The masked man said. Welkin coughed slightly and blinked as the man limped off.

"See you...in Valhalla you bastard." Welkin managed to spit out as the man was leaving. He saw the man pause and nod slightly, before continuing off.

Welkin could feel the rain hit him harder. He rolled over and dragged himself over to his bike...or what he thought was his bike. It was black and red, close enough. He dragged out his phone and flipped it open. 'Going to be late, ambush.' He clicked send and the message was sent off. Welkin dropped the phone and hung his head slightly. He felt the shock wave of a blast of some kind, before passing out.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Jaune stood by the cliff, over watching the road. Professor Port was talking again about some of his exploits on Route 99, and Jaune had since tuned him out for being so dubious. The group had been tasked by Professor Ozpin to make sure a courier with an important package for him makes it through alive. They had arrived maybe twenty minutes ago on one of the canyon sides with less fire. The rain had yet to arrive to this side, so the smoke and fire was neigh unbearable. They were standing in an area close to the canyon exit, waiting for any sign of the courier. They had heard an explosion earlier, but they reasoned that it was simply military operations. They had received permission from the military to be where they are, as the army had blockaded the canyon exit.

Jaune was enjoying not being soaked to the core, as they had gotten fairly wet traversing the city to the blockade. His thoughts were lost to himself, what was this courier carrying? Why was Professor Ozpin so worried about it that he sent a team and a professor? Why was his team to do it? Also, how was Pyrrha not cold in that armor? Maybe he should offer his hoodie. Would that make him look desperate? Nah, maybe just kind hearted...though he liked the way her skin looked in the r-no, don't go there...does she really walk like that?

"...and that is how I managed to surf a boartusk to the moon." Professor Port ended, laughing jovially. "Such times during my youth, they were quite something. Ah, is something on your mind young man?"

Jaune snapped out of his reverie, "Huh?"

"I asked if something was on your mind. You seem quite distracted for someone who is meant to be a lookout." Jaune stammered a bit at that.

"W-well, I...I just had some thoughts running in my mind." Jaune admitted somewhat.

"Well my boy, you shouldn't wait. You should show your interest earlier if you are." Professor Port looked at him with one eye open (he never seemed to open them to begin with...)

"W-what? I. No. That's not the issue. I'm just wondering why we were sent to do this. This sounds really important, so why didn't he send out more professors or actual hunters and huntresses?" Jaune half lied, pushing his thoughts of Pyrrha's figure to the back.

"Well my boy, perhaps this is another test for you? You succeeded your last task quite well, and I heard your team was quite pivotal for that."

"I guess...I mean our team really is good so-"

"So then do not doubt yourself any more. Know that you were given a task, and at this point, there is no room for that."

"Yeah...thanks Professor."

"Of course son, though I am being quite serious about doing something for a lady that catches your eye." Professor Port patted Jaune's shoulder lightly. "Go check on your team. I shall be here."

Jaune nodded and walked to find where Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora had gone off to. The three were knelt by the ledge, talking when he found them. Nora waved for their leader to join them. "Hey? What's going on?"

"Nothing has happened yet. Nora and I investigated the explosion from earlier."

"Yep! Someone blew up a buncha trees and put em on the road! It was about a half a mile away from here." Nora reported, saluting slightly while smiling. Jaune nodded.

"We should probably move a little closer than. If there's a roadblock someone might try and kill our objective. Uh...do we have any explosives to break that barricade if we need to?" Jaune and the others grabbed their spare gear and moved over closer.

The walk was rather uneventful. Lie Ren ran back to tell Professor Port they were moving ahead just a bit, and the good professor nodded and followed along. Jaune led the group through the unburnt woods. They could smell the charred earth ahead of them. They were getting closer to the blaze, from the smell of it.

Pyrrha sneezed lightly at the smell...and cold. Sure, it was some of the best armor available for her...but it was really cold. Jaune walked over and draped his jacket on her shoulders. "Thanks..."

"Sure, anytime. Anyways...I thought it was supposed to be storming. Why hasn't it hit here yet?"

"It's over the city at the moment. I think It'll come this way soon." Pyrrha pulled the jacket on tighter. The group continued into the woods, "This is so warm, where did you get it?"

"Uh...I'll show you the store when we're free? How does that sound?" Jaune said nervously. Pyrrha smiled at him and nodded.

"I'd like tha-URSAS!" Pyrrha whipped out Milo and her shield, opening fire on the on the large bear that appeared. The bear was dropped and fell over. Several other ursas appeared and let out a bestial roar. The group pulled out their weapons and readied themselves for combat. There were four still standing, one of them was most likely the pack leader considering his size and the amount of spikes on him.

"Pyrrha, hit them at range. Nora, blind them! Ren, you're with me, we're going to keep them busy." Jaune let loose his shield and drew the long sword. The two of them took the fore front. Nora jumped and slammed her hammer into the ground, launching herself above the tree line. Pyrrha knelt down and began firing from behind her two team mates.

"Wheeeeeeeee!" Nora cheered and slammed her hammer into the head of an unsuspecting ursa as if she was playing whack-a-mole. The hammer exploded as she fired a grenade into its head and took of back towards their line. Ren charged firing his machine pistols, with Jaune following. The bear grimm they were targeting took a swipe at the Ren, but Jaune got in the way and raised his shield, blocking. The strike staggered him from the sheer weight.

Ren jumped over Jaune and flipped, firing into the head of the Ursa. The bullets, while not very damaging, distracted the ursa. It took a single swipe into the air, but missed as Ren sailed away unharmed. Jaune immediately rammed the sword into the thing's stomach, and dragged it upwards, effectively carving its belly open. The Ursa fell over dead. "Watch out!" Ren turned as Nora called out to him. Another ursa had gotten close and was about to take a swipe. Then a red and gold spear pierced it's hand. Pyrrha had thrown Milo and speared the beast's hand to a tree, leaving him open for Ren to simply open fire into the chest. The beast dropped onto the floor limp, and Pyrrha recalled the spear to her.

The Alpha Ursa had come back, it roared at them before making a confused sound. There was a blast from a scattergun of some kind, followed by a thud. The beast fell forward, the weapon of Professor Port dug into its skull. Professor Port jumped off the back as the group stared in awe. How did he manage to-what in the?

"And that, students, is how you take down an alpha ursa. Gratuitous amounts of force to counter their large quantity of force. Exactly like how I described during the lecture on Ursas." Professor Port pulled his weapon out and cleaned it on the beast's body. The group just stared at him, unable to speak. Maybe his stories weren't just all talk...

"Are we all okay?" Jaune called out. The group nodded and confirmed their status. The group organized themselves.

"We're all fine. Thanks for asking." Pyrrha put the spear back on her back. "That being said, we need to go. The target might still be moving, and we have to do something about that road block."

The group started jogging towards the next location. They knelt by the cliff side farther down. Professor Port seemed oddly not winded despite his stature. Ren raised his hand for the others to wait. Ren raised a hand to his ear to listen carefully. "Gunshots, they're coming from the road block!"

"Alright, Nora." Nora looked at Jaune with a curious expression on her face, "Think you can break that road block down?"

Nora's face lit up immediately, "Can I?! Com'on Ren! Let's go blow something up!" The two of them headed down the canyon side towards the road block. Nora sped off immediately with Ren yelling something along the lines of "Hey slow down!"

"My dear boy, I have here a medical kit in case we need it. I recommend we go look beyond the barricade and see what is happening." Professor Port handed Jaune the medical bag. Jaune accepted the bag and slung it over his shoulder. Pyrrha and Jaune bolted off toward the opposite side of the road block while Professor Port went to join Nora and Ren.

Pyrrha and Jaune knelt by the cliff side after getting closer to the actual blazing ridge and looked down, past the barricade. They could make out a fight happening between two people, but the smoke from the fire was making it hard to discern who it was. They heard the roll of thunder from over head. "I can't see who's fighting, do you think you can use your scope to?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha pulled out her rifle and used her iron sight scope. She lowered it and shook her head, "There's too much smoke." The screech of a nevermore from above got their attention. It rained feathers upon the fighters, and a few stray ones actually landed quite close to them. Pyrrha and Jaune dived out of the way as a stray feather landed in between them.

It began raining and the sounds of combat stopped. The slow but steady beats of rain fell in the area, dousing the fires. In some areas, they could see that the blaze was burning to fiercely for even the rain to stop. They waited for a few minutes, one of the figures disappeared into the smoke and the other one crawled somewhere.

"Hey! Clear!" Nora called out to them. The two ran behind a tree as Nora blasted the road block into oblivion. They regrouped at the entrance to the blast, waving the smoke. The veil of smoke disappeared due to the rain falling harder. They then noticed who it was.

"Welksy!" The group ran over to the bleeding courier. He had passed out from blood loss and exhaustion. Professor Port immediately checked his injuries.

"His aura is healing him, slowly of course, but surely. We need to get him back to Beacon to assess his injuries further." He checked the stab wound, which was still bleeding somewhat, "The young man is badly beaten and injured, but he'll survive. If, we move now that is." Jaune applied some healing salve and other things from the medical bag to Welkin's injuries.

"Wait, where's his bag?" Ren asked. "He's the courier I think. He should have his bag."

The group looked around the area. No bag. Whoever was attacking him must have stolen it. "Oh no. This is not good. We have to go report this to Professor Ozpin immediately." Jaune declared. He began thinking what to do next. "...Does anyone know how to ride a motorcycle?"

The group shook their heads, until Professor Port interjected, "I can young man. I believe I said so before in one of my lectures! I was quite an excellent rider. In fact the Biker Sharks were debating on whether or not they would h- Ah yes, not the time." The professor stopped after seeing the look on their faces. The rain continued to fall around them at the awkward silence. "I shall take the bike to Beacon for safety. I believe we have rides arranged to return as well?"

"Uh...yeah. I think so. Let's get going guys." Jaune gestured for the team to follow. They broke off in a run, leaving Professor Port with the bike. Professor Port smiled giddily at the elegant red and black bike. Ren and Jaune carried the wounded Welkin back to where the airship was waiting.

"Hmm...The Frauline eh? Young man has excellent taste." Professor Port secured his position on the bike. He did a few adjustments and checks to fit his desire before activating the bike, "Let us see if it is as good as Edgar Three." The bike roared to life and Professor Port found himself speeding away at lightning speed.

The group had managed to get back to the military blockade when the Professor blew past them. They could make a very distinct YEEEHAAAAAA as he sped away into the city. Jaune and his team boarded the airship from Beacon. They placed Welkin on a stretcher when they got there and he was now laid out on the floor. The group took seats on the sides of the bike. It had gotten even colder when they got to the checkpoint.

Ren knelt by the courier and made sure he was in a reasonable condition. A medic at the checkpoint gave him a once over to clear him for travel. He sat down next to Nora soon after. Pyrrha and Jaune sat opposite of them, Jaune ran his hand through his wet hair. He sneezed slightly.

"It's raining really badly. Man it's cold..." Jaune shivered at the thought of being on an airship. He did NOT want to be on one. Perhaps he should've just taken the bike and winged it instead...he could already begin feeling the nausea take over.

"Thanks again for the hoodie...here, you can have it back." Pyrrha offered it back to him. Jaune shook his head.

"Oh no, that's alright. I'm fine! Really!" Jaune sneezed again. He cursed himself; were the gods really making a joke of him now? Seriously? Pyrrha giggled slightly at that. "Anyways...we're gonna get him back to the infirmary first. We'll split up there. Two of us can take Welkin to the infirmary and the other two can go report to the Professor."

Ren sighed, "I do not wish to carry him again. He's just too heavy for me."

"Maybe we should just take off his armor? His gear looks more heavy then he does." Nora asked. "If we strip him down we could probably carry him easily!" Ren sighed again and hung his head, before grinning.

"Well then I guess we're on carrying duty. Which means you two should go talk to the Professor." Jaune nodded and leaned back against the seat. He let out a breath, how was he going to explain he failed a mission directly from the Professor? Thankfully Pyrrha was nearby.

"He'll understand. I'm sure of it." Pyrrha smiled reassuringly at him. Jaune couldn't help but smile back nervously. He nodded and reasoned to himself.

'Yeah, he'll probably understand. Still doesn't mean I feel too good about it...' Jaune closed his eyes for a quick break as they flew back towards Beacon. His body was immediately reacting to him being in the air and he would prefer it if he slept through it instead of vomiting over his second in command.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Blake was in a dark corner of Crassius Street Market. She was near where the Faunus generally congregated, but kept out of sight. She had come there because she knew something was happening. She kept looking at the flier in her hand. It was slightly wet with droplets of rain from her wet hair, but it was legible.

"The revolution comes soon. The day we are truly free and above common man is nigh." The paper was White Fang propaganda she had been given by a random stranger. The papers with the symbol of White Fang were on it, as with a date. She was honestly expecting it to be today, at that time. That's why she was there. She should have realized that Adam didn't give a time.

She ignored the call from Yang for the umpteenth time. She figured they were searching for her, so she should leave soon and formulate a good excuse. She really had to cut the habit of leaving her friends uninformed out. The next call got her attention though...Adam. She answered it hesitantly and lifted it to her ear.

"I knew that your friend was lying." Adam said over the phone.

"What do you want? And why did you tell me to come to Crassius Street Market."

"Ah, you are already there." He sounded abnormally unsurprised, "Then I take it you know what's happening tomorrow?"

"Your rally." Blake folded the paper and put it away.

"Not a rally-urgh-but our revolution." Adam groaned as if in bad pain. Blake raised an eyebrow at that.

"You're injured, aren't you." Adam did not respond for a while. He returned a bit later.

"Yes. Fighting a man I underestimated. His punches did a lot of damage, and he dislocated a shoulder. I am being treated now as we speak. Our revolution starts tomorrow Blake."

"You are not dragging me back into this. I left because I disagreed with your methods. With the groups methods. General Delanoir would have brought me back, but you guys assassinated him I bet." Adam went silent again. She crossed her arms and waited for him to reply patiently.

"...That was not us. That was another group that I have cause to believe is targeting us. They have already hit several of our outposts." Blake raised an eyebrow, surprised. "I am as surprised as you are. There is little to be gained from assassinating a useless man like him. I want you to come back. To come help bring equality to fruition."

"Equality?" Blake spit back, "What's this equality you're talking about. All I see and or hear is the sound of Faunus being bigots in response to human bigotry. You are not fooling anyone with this."

"To be equal we need to show humanity that we ARE equal, if not better. Only then will our people get respect! You should understand this!"

"No! Violence breeds violence! YOU should know this! That's why I left! White Fang's actions are only causing more harm to our community than good!" Blake yelled back at Adam. The man paused for a moment.

"...then it has been a pleasure working with you, and talking to you again. We have what we need. That damned courier's package is exactly what we need. Faustus' Box will give us the power to attain true equality. And we have it." Blake froze at the mention of the box. She checked her pouch, the box was still with her...but how?

"Where did you get something so dangerous?" Blake asked immediately.

"So you know of what it is. We secured it while it was being transported by a group...a group you'd know as Exodus." Adam explained. "We will have the power with this. And you cannot stop it. Good bye Blake, this revolution is coming whether you agree with it or not. I just hope you make the right choice. If not, give my regards to that stupid courier I sent to hell."

"Who did you kill for it? What did you do?!" The call ended before she could get a response. Blake lowered her head. A Box. A device that would shut down a huge section of Vale. And White Fang had it. They had the city at gun point. Sure, they stole it from Exodus, so they're at fault too. But still...a Box. She had to go report this to Professor Ozpin immediately. She took off from the market quickly, getting on the first airship to the school.

She knew she couldn't just leave a bomb sitting there, ready to go off. She had to intervene. There was evil on the horizon, and she knew it was up to them to stop it. A part of her was curious as to who the courier Adam killed was. She wanted to guess it was a nameless man, but Adam said he underestimated him. Then she recalled he said he was literally beaten down with fists. Blake hoped she was wrong about who it was, and hoped that her friend won't take it badly.

Speaking of friends, Blake realized she had something to do. She pulled out her phone not long after boarding, and called Yang. The blonde immediately picked up the phone.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Yang and Ruby called out to Blake. Weiss just shook her head and sighed. "Yelling her name won't find her any faster. Remember? We've done this before."

"Yeah but still...It might help. Crassius Street Market is huge. You see all these people here?" The group stood in a crowded pack of people. Yang sighed. Blake wasn't answering her phone, and hasn't answered since she started calling.

"BLAAAAAAAKE!" Ruby called out again. It didn't help that so many people were there. The din of the market being alive despite the storm was something else. They reasoned either people were taking shelter from the storm or they were actually there to shop.

"Maybe we should give up on the search for now? It's going to be impossible to find her at this rate. We should wait until the storm stops enough for less people to be here." Weiss told the group. Yang nodded.

"Yeah...it makes sense. Oh, wait." Yang whipped out her phone expectantly. She checked her messages for Blake, but only received an untitled one from Welkin. "Sec, wasn't Blake. It was Welks."

"I think we have more important things to worry about right now than where your boyfriend is Yang." Weiss crossed her arms and glared at the blonde. She laughed in response to Weiss.

"Nah, I know what you mean. Odd. He usually titles his messages with something relevant." Yang opened up the message. 'Going to be late, ambush.' Yang's eyes widened. What? What did that mean? She looked up from her phone at the other two, who were still searching through the crowd. Her phone beeped again, this time from Blake. She immediately answered it. "Hey! Where are you?!"

"Sorry about that. I had to go do something is all. I'm back at Beacon now..."

"Why didn't you answer any of our calls? You know how worried we were?!" Yang asked, frowning for the first time in ever.

"Hey! Is that Blake?" Weiss asked. Yang handed the heiress her phone, who immediately yelled into it, "HEY! DIDN'T I SAY YOU SHOULD LET YOUR TEAM KNOW IF SOMETHING IS UP!?"

"I'm sorry...I just thought it wasn't a big deal. You should all come back...it's really, really late and you guys don't want to be sick."

"You have some SERIOUS explaining to do. Am I clear?!" Weiss growled over the phone and immediately handed the phone back to Yang. Yang took the phone that was shoved into her hands back and lifted it back up to talk.

"Well, you heard her. We're on our way back. See you soon!" Yang said. "Oh, and really it's a good thing to hear that you're safe." Yang ended the call as Ruby finally came back from 'checking out a stall.' She returned with a bag of hot apple pies. Yang smirked as she saw her sibling munching on one already. She sent a message back to Welkin, 'What does that mean?'

"What? They were hot and fresh! And soo soo good..." Ruby munched on the pie some more.

"Let's go guys. We've gotta head back." Yang pulled out her phone as they started walking to the entrance. They looked out at the heavy rain that soaked the area. A clock that towered over the entrance rang several times, declaring that it was now eleven o'clock. Yang sighed as she looked at the rain. "I don't like getting so wet..."

"We'll just have to run it then. Thankfully the airship services are near here." Ruby said and pulled out her scythe. She equipped it with practice slugs. "Let's get going then!" Ruby pulled on her hood and ran out the entrance, and then immediately blasted off from firing her rifle into the ground. The rubber dud bounced harmlessly past Yang and Weiss. They too quickly followed along, dashing through the storm as fast as they could.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Professor Ozpin checked his the holo pad on his desk. Someone had sent him a message. He checked it. It was sent by Junior. Ozpin opened up the message and read it quickly. 'Stolen...hm.' Professor Ozpin looked back out the storming window and frowned. This complicated matters. Exodus was expecting to make a move soon. He suspected their motivations were to damage the reputation of all Faunus. But it all seemed to fall in too perfectly. He reasoned that something else was deeper in all of this. Why else make fake boxes? Unless...

Professor Ozpin took a sip from his coffee. The bandages and injuries were mostly healed away thanks to their expert medical staff. He un-characteristically frowned for once. Interesting things were coming on the Horizon...and for once he was worried he did not have a solid plan. He was thankful that Jaune had managed to bring back Welkin alive, and that Blake also informed him of the position the device would be. He had to hatch a scheme, and for that he needed all the professors.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Notes: Well, what do you think? Hope it's interesting in some way at least. Also, when Adam (yes, that was him) asked if Welkin had the crystal, Welkin reasoned that that was what the package contained. That's how he knows. Ultimately though, he didn't check, so it might not even be a crystal. Who knows?

Also, about the storm. Yes, the storm front has actually rolled into Vale. During these sections it had not gotten to the Canyon yet. It was storming all over Vale. Think of it has a heavy typhoon. Also, I apologize if the typhoon is seen in poor taste. I wrote this before I found out about the disaster in the Philippines. My heart is out to the victims, and I hope the world is able to intervene and save or help them as fast as possible.

_Encyclopedia Entry:_

_Crassius Street Market. People like to call it a 'street market,' but in reality is a large structure made of stone and brick. Originally a large religious building, it was purchased long ago by a private owner and modified into the bustling market. A massive complex that mimics the style of middle eastern bazaars, this large structure protects numerous stalls. People like to joke that if it can be bought, it can be bought at Crassius Street Market. The Market is partitioned into blocks, with two large intersecting 'streets' that separates them. Each corner offers different wares, for example Block One (the north-eastern block) sells mostly clothing and accessories while Block Two (the north-western block) sells mostly farmer's goods and food. Crassius street market is generally packed with shoppers. An important thing to note is that Block Three (which sells everything, literally,) has a large amount of Faunus shoppers. People consider it the place where people are equal racially, and people are judged by the color of their coin more than their features. There are also rumors of an extensive black market built underneath in the old catacombs, but only those in the know really know if it's true._


	11. Part Seven: Vermilion Ridge (B)

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY and all that jazz. I'd like to claim ownership of originals however.

Intro Notes: Man, sometimes I wish I could draw. I really want to put some of these scenes into art, because words can't do it as much justice as my imagination does. I hope everyone is enjoying reading this, and that it's interesting to read. It would rock to see art for this story, no matter how unlikely it'll be. Like usual, please enjoy this part. Welcome to side B: On the Horizon.

XxXxXxXxX

**Chapter Two: Devil's Four**

Part 7: Vermillion Ridge

Side B: On the Horizon

XxXxXxXxX

The group had slept through the night immediately after cleaning up and drying off from the storm. They had found Blake sitting on her bed reading, as if nothing happened. Weiss accosted her when she came in and demanded an explanation in the morning, to which Blake consented. Now was that morning. The group dressed to get ready for breakfast. A note was slipped in from their residential advisor, saying that professors were called away and classes were canceled today.

Yang was doing her morning stretches as they got ready. The rain had died down from the day before. The storm was still there though, blanketing the sky with its black clouds. It was as if it was waiting to come again. She started on her morning pushups when someone knocked on their door. She stood back up, "I'll get it!" She was in a cheerful mood. Nothing bad had happened to the team, and everyone was okay. Though she had a creeping feeling something about today was wrong.

She swung the door open and looked at the visitor, Jaune and team JNPR. "Mornin' guys! Sleep well?" She gave her winning smile, knowing nothing was going to bring her down today. The group returned the greeting before Yang let them shuffle into the room. Ruby was sitting on her bed and looked up from her notebook.

"Hey guys! What's up?"

"Nothing really. Just thought we could hang out today, considering classes were canceled. We did all our important stuff yesterday." Jaune rubbed his shoulder slightly.

"Sure, I don't mind! What about you guys? Up for it?" Ruby smiled and hopped off the bed, happy to have an excuse not to study.

"Hey man, I'm all down for it! I think the game room should still be open right? We could probably go jack a pool table!" Yang flexed her arm and rolled her shoulder a bit, relaxing it a bit.

"I'll have you warned right now, me 'n Ren are an unbeatable pool team!" Nora smiled at the blonde. Ren was still visibly sleepy behind her and said nothing.

"Then we have a challenger! Who shall be my second!?" Yang announced to the group. The teams laughed and Blake raised a hand. The group looked at her surprised and intrigued.

"I am quite the pool shark from what I've been told. I shall accompany you." Blake smirked. That smirk would give the devil a run for his money in terms of how devious it looked.

"Challenge...ACCEPTED!" Nora bounced up and high fived Yang, who energetically returned it. The resounding crack made the group smile.

"Before that...we should probably go check on Welkin. I'm hoping the doctors were able to help him here...he was in a really bad state even with his aura healing him." Yang froze at Jaune's words.

"Come again?"

"That was our mission yesterday. We were supposed to go find and cover a courier carrying something for Professor Ozpin. It turned out that courier was Welkin and the bad guys managed to reach him first." Pyrrha explained to the blonde, who was shocked.

"No, no I mean that last part. He's dying?" Yang was genuinely surprised. Welkin, taken down. He was incredibly durable as their spars had shown her. "He's here too?" The message from last night made all too much sense now.

"Yeah..at the infirmary. He should be recovering. We managed to get him out fast enough to make a difference I think!" Yang looked at the others. They nodded and headed off for the infirmary.

XxXxXxXxX

Ruby poked her head through the door and peered into the bland looking hospital room. She scanned it and saw only one bed that was occupied. She sighed in relief as they didn't have to worry about waking anyone else up or bothering them. Yang burst in from behind and the door bounced off the wall with quite a lot of force. Nurses glared at them in the corridor, and the others looked at her in surprise.

"Crasher!" The two teams filed in after Yang, who had gone and picked up the medical diagnostic board at the foot of the bed. Welkin was still passed out, unconscious to his surroundings. She read the board quickly and passed it to Blake to go over and see Welkin. She pinched the bridge of her nose with frustration and muttered, "Why do you do this to me man?"

"Hmm...several bruises and cuts, looks like a nasty gash on his leg, and a rather nasty stab wound." Blake walked over and looked at the bandaged areas. "Also it looks like he had some cuts from claws on his back, as if he fought a beowolf."

"He must've gotten that at Alistier, he was at Firebase Magnum after all." Yang said. The group hovered over the injured courier, "Huh, I guess he's got enough energy for his aura to be working. Surprised he didn't use his power..."Welkin had an almost holy looking glow around him, his aura working overtime to repair damage.

"Wait, I thought you had to concentrate to use your aura?" Jaune raised an eyebrow and looked at the others. Ruby nodded in agreement. "Isn't that a little weird?" Nora was bent over looking at him, and poked him gently.

"Some people have it passively." Yang immediately explained, "It just kicks in on its own, like when there's an emergency." Blake looked at the blonde, who gave her -that- look. Blake nodded in agreement and played along.

"I have heard the case that some people actually can do so, whether consciously or not. He may be just one of them." Blake gestured with her hand and crossed her arms. No reason for the others to know a full truth. Blake could guess that Welkin was awake, she saw him shift a bit when Nora poked him.

Jaune and Pyrrha looked around the room and found Welkin's pile of gear. The two dug through it again to double check. Jaune looked at Pyrrha and sighed, "It really is gone. Damn, I was hoping he hid it somewhere on him..."

"I agree. This is very bad. That package was supposed to be really important. Professor Ozpin wanted us to go make sure it was safe. We have to go find it!" Pyrrha looked at the group seriously.

"...I think I know what's going on." Blake sighed and pulled out a paper, the flier from yesterday. "I have a confession to make guys...I promised you one Weiss, so here it is. I was actually at Crassius Street Market yesterday. I decided to go find out what Adam wanted. I snuck out that night, when we were going to the cafeteria. When I got there, Adam was no where to be found. Instead, people were handing out these fliers for a rally tonight. Adam also called me when I was there and told me he wanted me back for White Fang." Blake could feel the hard glare from Weiss at the mention of that. She handed out the paper for the others to look at before continuing, "I rejected his proposal. I...I thought I could stop whatever they were planning by myself, but it seems I was too early for that. Adam said to me that he wanted me back because they had a weapon now. A thing that would make the Faunus Revolution real, and not just a 'terrorist group.' He said that he stole something from a dead courier." Blake gestured at Welkin, "And you said his bag was missing and he was dying when you found him."

"I...I know I should have come to you guys first. I'm sorry. But it doesn't matter any more. He has a weapon that would cause untold amounts of damage to the city. Not to mention the fact that it would destroy any reputation the faunus had left in the world. White Fang needs to be stopped, and I intend on stopping them."

After Blake finished, the room was quiet. They were all lost in thought, but they knew they all shared a common goal now: stop the super-weapon, save Vale. It was almost story book really. A group of teenagers forced to fight a battle for their lives. Weiss was the first to speak and put her hands on Blake's shoulder, smiling somewhat, "See? That wasn't so hard now was it?"

"It's a fools errand though, I don't want you guys to be hurt because of this ambit-" Ruby cut Blake off immediately.

"We're a team Blake. Your goal is ours. We're all family here now after all. And I for one don't want this place destroyed."

"Yeah. Exactly." Weiss nodded at the cloak wearing girl, "We're in this together now that you told us."

"We're in too." Pyrrha said. Jaune looked at her in surprise, wearing his 'seriously?' face. "Yes. Seriously Jaune. As Ruby said, we're all friends here. I think we all share the common goal of wanting to protect Vale. After all, what would be the point of becoming hunters and huntresses if we knew of a danger and did not make the effort to stop it?"

Nora chimed in immediately, "Yeah! We're gonna go kick ass and make sure nothing happens to our home!"

"...Yeah. Yeah, we're in. It's probably going to be dangerous, but...I'm sure we'll succeed." Jaune smiled at the team.

"Team JNPR and team RWBY! Together, we're UNBEATABLE!" Ruby cheered!

"Oh yeah! We gotta get prepped if we're gonna go stop that weapon." Yang jumped slightly, grinning. "It'll be a blast I bet!"

"That was so bad..." Ruby muttered. Yang looked at her sister and raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Nothing! I just said I have to go fix Crasher's gear right now, and make sure the rest of our stuff is ready!" Ruby was about to turn and leave when Yang wrapped her arm around her sister.

"Not yet, that doesn't take that long. Remember? We were gonna relax before we go. We don't want to tire ourselves out from over-preparation!" Yang grinned at Nora, "And I believe I still have that game of pool to win." Nora's face lit up immediately.

"You're still on! And we're definitely going to win!" Nora pointed dramatically. "But first...let's go get some breakfast! I heard they have pancakes!" Nora turned and left, humming all the way. Ren sighed and smiled faintly, before following her off. The morning drowsiness was glued to him from what it looked like.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll be right behind you." Yang gestured to them. She grabbed Blake's arm for a moment, "Thanks, you know, for earlier." Blake smiled and nodded.

"Just give me the details later." Blake followed Ruby out and shut the door behind her, leaving Yang with Welkin. Yang turned around and frowned. She sat down next to him and sighed, trying to keep the moisture from her eyes.

"What the hell is with you and almost getting killed? You know this is about the fourth time by now?" She asked him. "I swear, first that bike crash, then you almost get killed by a nevermore...and don't even get me started with your stunt in Alistier. You make it so hard for me to not worry when you're away, you know that?" Yang leaned on the bed, hand on her chin. She watched as Welkin's aura continued healing him, when she decided to actually talk to him. She thumped him on the chest once. "Hey! Wake up!" Yang thumped on his chest again, a little harder this time.

XxXxXxXxX

_Welkin was leaning against the wall, thinking hard and long. He was looking out over the field from the roof as usual. He needed some time to himself after Mike and Sunny accidentally detonated his lunch on him. He had managed to clean himself off and was fuming. Why in all of Vale was it today. He was reallllly pissed. First he finds out that he didn't do as well as he had though on the midterms, then he screws up during combat practice, and now his lunch had exploded on his face. He stalked the halls, brimming with rage. People could feel the electricity just ready to pop out and torch anyone unlucky enough to be near._

_He took a deep breath, hoping to calm himself down. Nope! Didn't work. Okay maybe a stress ball? Wait no he destroyed it earlier, when his lunch exploded. Okay, how about something more relaxing and therapeutic. He continued thinking...and then it hit him._

"Nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee.

Even though it shall be a cross that raiseth me,

Still all my song shall be,

Nearer, my God to thee; Nearer my God to thee..."_ Welkin began singing. He knew he was not that great, but that didn't matter. It was relaxing. He continued onto the second verse, singing to himself on the roof. Welkin also didn't notice Yang come up. When Welkin finished the third verse he immediately stopped and realized he was being watched._

_"I didn't know you sang...or that you were religious."Yang walked closer to the brooding man. His turned his head, still frowning. "Aww, com'on, turn that frown upside down! Things will look up!"_

_"Yeah, if my lunch didn't explode on me. That seemed to have made everything worse." He growled. Yang walked over and looked out over the field. He noticed she still had that winning smile, and felt his anger abate slightly._

_"Well lucky for you I got extra." Welkin raised an eyebrow as Yang dug through her school bag. She handed him a packet. He looked at the package as Yang opened one up. Chocolate cupcakes filled with creme...Welkin broke into a grin, damn his weakness to sweets._

_"Thanks. Really. I owe you one."_

_"Nah! No problem! Consider it payback for that time you took over for cleaning when I had to go for that emergency!" Welkin laughed raucously at that._

_"Really? Do you think your cupcake can satisfy that debt? You realize the hell you put me through yes?" Welkin bit into the super sweet cupcake._

_"Yep! 'Cause it's the 'yeast' I could do." Welkin groaned, "Aww, com'on, that was a good one!"_

_"That joke has 'mushroom' to improve." Welkin bit into the cupcake again, savoring the taste. Yang let out a little giggle at his bad pun._

_"I think that's worse than what I thought up." The two shared another laugh as they finished the packets. "But seriously, where did you learn to sing that and like that?" Yang licked the chocolate glaze off her fingers._

_"Well...I guess it has to do with my parents. My mom used to sing that as a lullaby to us when we were little. She was fairly devote, and learned the hymn when she went to church. I ended up learning from her cause it was such a soothing song."_

_"Oh wow! That's sweet!"_

_"Mh...it's really cheesy to admit it. A song I learned from my mom 'cause she sang it all the time. As to how I learned to sing it...she took me to one of the religious meetings once. They were having choir practice so they decided to have me join in. After a few of those, I memorized the hymn thoroughly and was able to use it to put my brothers to sleep." Welkin rubbed the back of his head gently. "Though we were devils incarnate. It would take forever and it was really hard for them to sit still long enough to hear it."_

_"That sounds adorable, you singing your brothers to sleep! Also, I don't think much changed. You're still the devil incarnate." Yang punched his arm lightly. Welkin rolled his eyes somewhat._

_"Well yes, of course. People say I'm devilishly handsome after all." Welkin made some joke poses and flexed. _

_Yang laughed and shifted her stance, as Welkin adjusted his stance. She noticed he stood up straight and that he fixed his posture. "Why are you so formal looking man? You should relax."_

_"Oh believe me I am. I just got in the habit of standing like this. A perfect posture makes a man infinitely more imposing, no?" He did a mock gentleman's voice._

_"Riiiight. You know that story kinda reminds me of me. I used to have to sing Ruby to sleep."_

_"Really now? The great and powerful little dragon had to sing for her sister? Now that I cannot imagine." Welkin joked, cracking a grin._

_"Aww, my voice is perfect for singing!"_

_"Yeah and yelling battle cries. Seriously I could hear you a mile away." Yang punched him again lightly, causing Welkin to laugh._

_"Right right, 'cause my foes should -always- know I'm about to beat em up!" Yang brought her fists together and pounded them. "So what was that you were singing?"_

_"Huh? It's a hymn. As to what it means...I'm not entirely sure. From the lyrics I think it's saying that no matter what happens I'll be closer to God. Like in the first verse it says 'Even though it be a cross that raiseth me.' I'm willing to interpret that as the singer saying no matter what happens my love for God will never change."_

_"That's...really religious. Are you sure about being agnostic?"_

_"Well I don't know. It's half and half some days. I just know these things because of my mom." Welkin shrugged. "I'm not one to judge beliefs, especially religion."_

_"Well, that's cool. At least you think you have some meaning of it."_

_Welkin nodded in acknowledgement. "My mom always says that it's good to have a sense as to the things around you. Learned a lot of spirituality from her honestly." Welkin took a sip from his water canteen. _

_"If you don't mind me askin', why were you so pissed?"_

_Welkin hung his head and sighed, relaxing a bit. "Just everything I botched up today. It really shouldn't be as big of a deal as I make it look, honestly. Chris told me to shake it off and pick myself back up but...it isn't that easy. I did really badly on my midterms, even though I studied really hard for it. Right after that I got whooped in combat training because the teacher decided it was free-for-all day. And finally Mike n Sunny blew up my lunch."_

_"Ouch...wait, how'd they blow up your lunch?" Yang tilted her head and raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I know the food is bad, but it's not made of explodium."_

_"The idiots made their first shotgun shells in class. Biiiig mistake. They put em down next to something, a hot plate or something. So when they realized it was about to go off they threw it. They landed in my flippin' tray and exploded, showering me in gunk."Welkin rubbed his temples in misery._

_"How...how do you do that? I thought you have to trigger it from the back?" Yang was even more confused now. "Bullets don't just explode from being too hot...well, they do, but you know what I mean."_

_"I dunno! Exactly why I was so confused! One minute I'm about to enjoy a nice lunch with those clown shoes and suddenly I'm covered in mash potatoes and gravy, with a huge hole in my tray." Welkin threw his hands into the air. "I swear those guys are idiots and smart at the same time!"_

_The two laughed. Mike and Sunny were indeed some of the brightest people on campus...but sometimes common sense just didn't register for them. Yang once claimed that they just didn't have any more room for common sense after memorizing so much math. _

_"Oh yeah, SPEAKING of idiots, you hear about the fight between those two brawlers?" Yang grinned, suddenly remembering the scene from during her combat training class._

_"Yeah I did actually, who won? I heard it was quite a thing."_

_"Yep! I was there when it happened. It was so weird seeing them in the ring. It was like watching a combination sumo and wrestling match!"_

_"...I don't even understand. How is that even a thing?!" Welkin asked. "Wait, was it that guy who wears a mask and calls himself Los Tiburon? And that other guy, the really big one?"_

_"Yep! It was totally a thing. That's what it was so funny. You ever heard of a luchadore being able to grab a really fat dude and drop him on his rear? It was great..." Yang continued sharing her story with Welkin. They shared laughs and traded stories for the rest of lunch, and at the end of the day Welkin felt a lot less angry (though that anger may have come back when Mike and Sunny accidentally destroyed his first bike.)Before leaving for the day, he ran again into Yang._

_"Hey...thanks for earlier. You know? If you ever need anything...uh...I'll be there for you. I...I...yeah...just let me know. Rain or shine, heaven or hell, nothing will stop me from getting back to you. I promise." Welkin held out his hand for a handshake._

_"Idiot, I already know that. And I'll always hold you to that." Yang instead pulled him into a tight hug. "Now you should go before Sunny and Mike can ruin any more of your day."_

XxXxXxXxX

Welkin was meditating when the group arrived, thinking about the past and how much he enjoyed the simpler days. He decided to keep meditating instead of joining the group's conversation, after all his semblance and aura needed a superfluous amount of concentration to work on overdrive. He could feel his powers had healed enough of his injuries for him to be able to move. It still hurt. Alas the healing he was capable of doing only had limited pain reducing capabilities. The stab wound was really bad, he knew it probably punctured something that shouldn't be. The other cuts and bruises were not as bad, despite what it looked. The bandages the doctors had put on were more of a formality for him at that point.

He stopped concentrating immediately when Yang thumped his chest after complaining about how much he almost dies.

"I know you're awake Crasher." Yang had her arms crossed and was seated next to the bed. She smiled at him, though the worry never truly left her face. Welkin sighed and opened his eyes, smiling back at the blonde.

"A smile really does fit your look better than a frown. Hey Yang. How's my little dragon?" Welkin smirked weakly at the blonde. He knew what was co- Yang immediately punched him in the face, decking him really hard. 'Gods, did her punches always hurt this much?'

"And don't even complain about that!" Yang huffed before cracking her normal smile. "I'm...really glad to see you're alive." Yang hugged Welkin as soon as the young man sat up on the bed. She felt him wince from her touch, but returned the hug just as tightly.

"You know I'll never let you down. Remember that promise? Even near death I'll make it back to you." Welkin ran his hand through her golden locks, making sure not to break any. He really didn't need to stay in the hospital any longer. Yang laughed at the mention of that.

"Oh jeez, that old promise. That was so cheesy." Welkin smiled and rubbed the back of his head gently when they let go.

"I never said it wasn't. But I think it got the point through. And from the sound of things you'll need my help."

"Welkin..." Yang looked at him seriously. "I really was worried. This was worse than the last time...and just thinking that you might have not even made it out of Alistier."

"...I know. I'm sorry for making you worry so much. I...nothing can really absolve it."Welkin looked down at the mention of Alistier. He could feel the guilt over Firebase Magnum...and what other places he might have delivered a box to. Deep in his heart he knew that it was his fault. If he had only checked the packages before delivering them. If only he had stayed to help evacuate Firebase Magnum. Who knows how many people wouldn't have died, how many he could have s- Welkin felt Yang lean against his shoulder, placing her head against it.

"Don't cross that line, I'd rather you talk about it instead of brooding over it. I know the way you think Welkin. Weren't you the one who told me to not mire in our own despair? To not sink yourself into the guilt and what could have been?"

"I'm...no you're right. If I do that then I would be a hypocrite wouldn't I? I don't know. It still hurts...the guilt from just leaving so many behind. I mean, some of those people didn't even deserve what happened to them. I just...I just can't stand it. How can people get away with this too? Where's the Bureau of Intelligence in all of this?" Welkin gripped the blankets and frowned angrily. He let go slowly, and took a deep breath, "I won't let their memory die away, but...like you said. I won't sink into misery. We've got a job to do, we've got a city to save." Yang grinned at these words.

"Good. We'll definitely need your help! Nothing like two scary brawlers to pound some face in!" Yang offered a fist bump, which Welkin gladly took. "I think your gear is over there. You think you're ready to move?"

"Well even if I wasn't I was gonna sneak out anyway. I'm well enough to move. If it's tonight, then I have enough time to be combat ready." Welkin gritted his teeth as he swung his legs off the bed. He stood up weakly, unstable from the numbness of his legs. Yang just watched as he proceeded to go through his things. "Have you guys told Professor Ozpin?"

"Even if they did not, I suspect I would have found out anyway. Good morning Mister Fenrir, Miss Xiao Long." Professor Ozpin appeared at the door. Welkin and Yang jumped and turned in surprise. "I'm quite honestly surprised you are not in bed still. Alas, the wonders of being quite a capable healer. It is good to see you survived the ambush."

"Thank you sir." Welkin bowed his head politely at the wiser man.

"There is no need to thank me. If anyone is to thank, thank team JNPR. They were the ones that brought you out alive." Professor Ozpin took a sip from his mug. "Ah...yes. There is a matter of business I wanted to discuss with you for a moment. First, the good Professor Port had managed to bring back your motorcycle. He says he left it at...I believe the Biker Shark's machine shop. Secondly...there is a task I would like you to do." Professor Ozpin handed a paper to Welkin, who immediately unfolded it to look at. "When you return from tonight...I want you to take a team and immediately start with that plan."

Welkin read the instructions, his eyes widened slightly. "Yes sir. Consider it done."

"Wait, Welkin, aren't you a courier? I thought you didn't just take jobs like a mercenary?" Yang looked at him, concerned for how quickly he accepted the task.

"I believe Star of Polaris was based in Alistier. Until the city is liberated...I can only assume the worse. That leaves you without much to do, correct?" Professor Ozpin turned to leave. "Please get it done Welkin. It is vital that you see the task through." He closed the door behind him and walked away, his hard sole shoes clacking against the linoleum flooring.

"What is it? What's the job?" Yang tried to peer at the paper inquisitively.

"You'll find out. But first, we have breakfast to catch, a hospital to break out of, and a weapon to find and disarm. How about we get that done first?" Welkin stepped behind some curtains and changed into his normal clothes, since repaired by the staff there. He adjusted the clean coat. "You know, it feels so weird to wear clean clothes for once...oh, and not have -any- of my weapons and armor."

Yang stifled a laugh, "Yeah, you -do- look funny without your gauntlets. Ruby's going to fix it later I expect, along with the other things you have. You should thank me for having such a darling little sister!" Welking laughed and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly.

"Or I could thank you for both having an awesome little sister, and for worrying so much. How many dinners do I owe you now? I'm really grateful..." Yang hugged him tight in response.

"Hehe, you're welcome! And I might just take that dinner offer to-!" Yang was about to finish when Ruby burst into the door.

"What's taking you so long? We could've been done eating if y-" Then she immediately saw Yang and Welkin hugging each other. Welkin mouthed an oh shit as the two broke apart quickly. "Wait, why's Crasher u-? WAIT! Yaaaaaaaaannnnng!? W-what's going on!?"

"Nothin-" The two said immediately. Ruby raised an eyebrow and pointed at the two accusingly.

"I knew you two were together! Why didn't you tell me this Yang?! How could you keep your sister in the dark about this!?" Ruby huffed and crossed her arms. The blonde bombshell rubbed the of her hair gently, totally nervous.

"W-well, you see, it's because we're uh...not together! Yeah, that's right, we're not!" Yang beamed at her sister. Ruby just frowned at that.

"I'm not a kid any more! You don't have to lie to me like that!"

"Well, what your sister is saying is tru-" Ruby was immediately in his face.

"AND YOU! Don't even get me started on you! You're almost a complete stranger to me and suddenly you appear and cause all this?! Don't you -dare- touch my sister!" Ruby punched him in the stomach, but causing Welkin to flinch and move slightly. Yang raised her eyebrows in surprise, she had never seen anyone make Welkin flinch so bad from a gut punch. Excluding her of course, but she has shotgun cestuses.

"Ow. Ow. Alright. I won't."

"Hey, uh, Ruby, aren't you overreacting a bit?" Ruby glared at her sister.

"I demand a full explanation later! First, we're all hungry! Take any longer and we won't leave you any!" Ruby bolted off. The two looked at each other awkwardly as Welkin retied the scarf around his neck and pulled the goggles onto his neck.

"...Well. That could have gone better." Yang finally said before breaking out into a nervous chuckle.

"Yep...yeah...I hope she realizes we're actually not together...ugh she can throw a punch." Welkin rubbed his stomach lightly and fixed his coat again, before peeking out the door. The nurses were all busy at the moment. "Let's move while we're unseen." Welkin and Yang quickly made their way out, and towards the cafeteria. "You know, if this works out, I'm definitely taking you out to dinner."

"Hah, I fear for the restaurant. We're too shockingly hot together I bet." Welkin groaned slightly, "But I might just take you up on that." The two grinned at each other and went along their way, two close friends reunited. Yang let one more comment slip out as they walked down the stairs, "Seriously? A stab wound?" Welkin groaned and claimed it was a legitimate wound, leaving Yang laughing.

XxXxXxXxX

Roman Torchwick lit his cigar, clearly displeased. Those traitorous bastards. Cinder walked up behind him, "And your master plan? How has this been affecting it?" Torchwick jumped immediately and turned around. Cinder grinned at the surprised man.

"O-oh. Hello there. And nothing changes. It will simply speed up the process. Nothing will change." Torchwick pretended to still be in control of the situation. He was ultimately expecting to be betrayed by White Fang...but to have them steal one of the Devil's Four...

"I will not tolerate our plans to be slowed down. Exodus is waiting on the Horizon. You will either recover it and use it...or use it all when those damned Faunus do."

Torchwick frowned, "You saw we were able to do it to Alistier. Couriers are too proud to bother checking any packages, and they will never hand it over either. We'll get it done, don't worry." Cinder glared at him, before smirking.

"Good. Carry on." Cinder turned to leave. Torchwick wiped the sweat off his brow, glad he was not turned into a piece of charcoal. Torchwick turned around and checked his information pad. The other pieces were in place. He just had to correct this one stump in the plans. He double checked the map pieces. "Ah yes...Ozpin...I wonder what you're going to do...I know you won't sit still long."

Roman Torchwick smiled to himself. Things will be rolling along, and their goal was . The box was out of place quite badly. If the full effect was going to be realized, it had to be moved. Damned Faunus, they were definitely stupid beasts.

XxXxXxXxX

Adam scratched the bandage on his chest. The bruises were still very prominent on his chest, and his shoulder still stung badly. The White Fang medic had since retreated away, leaving Adam to his own devices. The rain had come to the base and soaked the area, ending the blaze around the forest. The air, even inside the bunker, smelled heavily of charred wood and rain. He looked at the device on the table. They were ready. He hoped that courier had died, he did not wish to fight him again.

He flipped through some maps as minions prepared the ride to Vale. He was busy contemplating how to approach this. Blake was against him, and he could assume she would try and stop him. He was willing to be she would bring all her little friends along for the ride as well. Adam rolled the crystal from the package in his hand. The device was waiting. His minions managed to secure the box for their use.

Adam moved the chess pieces on the table, examining it to see who was where. He winced when he reached out to grab the farthest one. He shrugged off the pain for now, and reexamined the map that was updated. All the pieces were in place. Now comes the revolution.

XxXxXxXxX

Notes: I recall saying that Side A and B would show different perspectives. I sort of broke that rule here. I decided instead of switching perspective to focus some more on what's happening now for them. I also decided to establish the kind of relationship Yang and Welkin had. Can they be considered a couple? I don't think so. Not yet at least. I'm still hoping they come through as really close friends that like to flirt and joke with each other, but they're really either hesitant, or unsure if the others approaches are genuine. And because of this, they don't actually go check if either side is truly interested. With that in mind, they do care for each other as close friends. I plan on using the next interlude to build some more on that relationship. Give it more back story. If it doesn't work out, I CLEARLY would need to rethink what I'm doing and how I'm writing. Actually, I might just make an interlude chapter that separates Part 7 and 8, and then plug in another one for the end of Chapter 2: Devil's Four (probably not though, considering it would throw the pacing off the kilter for me.) Lemme know if you're interested in some of their past interactions. I know I'll make up stuff for them, but when is the question.

Speaking of which, we're almost there. The Devil's Four is almost at an end. I'm still in the works for Chapter Three, but I suspect it'll probably end more more dramatic than the last two. Things will get "grimm" if you know what I mean. (Yes that was bad, but I couldn't resist.)

Thanks again for reading. Feel free to leave your comments and thoughts as to what could be improved or extrapolated on. I'll definitely take it to heart.

_Encyclopedia Entry:_

_The Frauline, or the Erica Machine Works (EMW) 245 LX. Welkin's second official motorbike. It was a gift from one of the heads of Star of Polaris after Welkin was accepted as the thirteenth courier. This replaced the old Velka G20 bike that belonged to his father, but given to Welkin. The Velka was destroyed when Sunny and Mike decided to have a practice duel at the gym near the parking lot. By unfortunate chance, the two managed to break a section of wall and crushed the old bike. The original EMW 245 LX was brand new a few years ago. It was powered by a Merlina Mk1 engine, which provided more power than most other bikes. However, after a narrow escape from pursuers, the bike was subsequently severely damaged. Ramirez from Biker Sharks took the damaged bike and did extensive repair work on it, transforming it from the EMW 245 LX to the 255 LXR (R for Ramirez.) Ramirez, outside of just body modification and repair, also installed a new engine to it: a turbocharged Merlina Mk2. Welkin uses this bike on long hauls and courier missions, able to effectively make deliveries a lot quicker than before. It's modified to include a few hidden compartments where possible, and has an enlarged fuel tank to carry more dust. Welkin calls it the Frauline in honor of the original makers: Erica Machine Works._

_Recent Edits:_

_I would like to mention that the Frauline is indeed one of the beastier machines I have ever ridden on. It's incredibly powerful, and goes extraordinarily fast without such energy drain. It is also indeed a beautiful machine! However! A severe design flaw I have noticed is that it cannot keep itself in a turn at speed! It simply goes too fast for it. The Edgar Three with it's L86X2 Engine would most definitely be more efficient than this. But I suppose it would fit for a speed demon to have a speedy bike. _

_- Last Edited by User TheGreatPort224, date withheld._

_The Bumblebee's better! A Mustang G400 Engine is so much better n that Merlina! Higher power/dust ratio!_

_- Last Edited by YXL-Blawndie!, date withheld._

_Please stop vandalizing my entry guys, you two aren't that anonymous on the net. PS: The Merlina 2 will wipe the floor with your Mustang. Better engine injection, suspension (for jumps,) and its so much more durable._

_- Last Edited by StrykerFenrir, date withheld._

_(A/N: it's based off of a BMW F800 GT, but modified to be slightly heavier, a tad bulkier, and longer to fit the huge engine in. Whoops, I said GS, but I meant GT. EDITED!)_


	12. Part Eight: Target Reference Point (A)

Disclaimer: Don't own RWBY and all that jazz. I'd like to claim original ideas however.

Intro Notes: Well here we go! Part 8, Target Reference Point! Side A: On Your Hands. Nothing like a little bit of drama to get the blood flowing. I'd like to apologize for slowing down my updates, I mean hoooboy, I've been busy. Well, without further interference, please enjoy Part 8!

XxXxXxXxX

**Chapter Two: Devil's Four**

Part 8: Target Reference Point

Side A: On Your Hands

XxXxXxXxX

Blake and Yang were following Welkin. They figured they would split up as a team, but it was so odd to be led through one of the BIGGEST black markets in Vale. They passed by vendors of all sorts of things...most of it illegal. Yang looked at some of the things, illegal weapons, stolen equipment that needed to be fenced, drugs...it was quite revolting.

"How was this a brilliant plan again Crasher?" Yang asked as he shouldered their way through the crowd. Many of the customers chose to avoid them and walk around them, as the big courier on the front looked like he was ready to rip and tear. They thought back to what happened earlier.

_Teams JNPR and RWBY pushed their way through a sea of people. They made their way near the stage Welkin kneeled down and let Ruby stand on his shoulder to see what was happening._

_"It looks like there's a giant hole in the center of the stage. They might raise something up. If I had to guess, after all the speeches they're going to reveal it all." Ruby told the teams. "If only we had a way to get underneath them without arousing too much suspicion..."_

_"Indeed, it would be a lot easier if we didn't have to fight our way through White Fang. I recommend splitting into several teams for this. Two can look for a way to get underneath while a third can keep them distracted." Lie Ren proposed. Nora was sitting on his shoulders, overlooking the place. They could see White Fang members crawling all over the stage and in the areas leading up to it._

_"I don't think that would be a good idea, none of us know -how- to get under it unless we're going straight for it!"_

_"Well uh..." Welkin spoke up, "That might not be true for all of us." The group stared at Welkin. "You guys know about the Catacombs? They say it's a huge black market. I actually made a delivery there once. And...I'm fairly certain I remember the way down."_

_"Okay, so if you know how to get down, great. How do we approach this with this knowledge in tow?" Weiss asked, contemplating the options. That's where Jaune came in._

_"Well, I think we could do two teams. One team will go in through the catacombs and find the weapon. From there they can disable it. The other team can either help cause a distraction or cover the team infiltrating. I think Crasher could lead the team down there, since he's already got experience navigating it." Jaune gestured to the courier. "On that note, you'll need an infiltration specialist. Someone who can get in and get out quickly without detection." _

_"Then I volunteer for that." Blake raised her hand slightly, "They won't see or hear me coming."_

_"You'll also raise the least suspicion when it comes to approaching White Fang." Yang noted. Blake nodded at that slowly. "Crasher, want anyone else in particular?"_

_"Hmm...I'll take Yang. If push comes to shove down there the two of us will be able to handle our own long enough for someone to disable the device. The rest of you can watch and give us updates on what's happening. Use your phones to keep in contact okay?" Welkin gestured for the two to follow._

_"Remember guys, we get one shot at this. We have to do it right. We're in this together now!" Ruby announced."All in, okay?" The team nodded and immediately went to work. Welkin led Blake and Yang to a nondescript stair. Welkin instead tapped a seemingly nondescript brick, and the stairs downwards opened up and lowered themselves. As soon as they passed a certain level they could hear the bricks closing above them. _

_"Gonna warn ya, Black Street isn't the prettiest place, and it's far from friendly. Stay with me." Welkin told Blake and Yang._

_"They won't mess with you?" Yang asked dubiously. "I mean, a man carrying a package sure seems like a good target, especially since people know couriers are always on express and secure delivery."_

_"Beat the hell outta a buncha the local gang once because they decided to try and mug me. Taught em not to mess with me or anyone I know. If their jaws were still intact, I think they would consent ."_

_"I like your style Welkin." Blake grinned as they continued down. Welkin turned his head back and smirked. They descended who knows how many floors before they finally got to the black market._

"Because you saw the stage." Welkin replied before pushing through to near the center of the place. The catacombs were surprisingly well lit, enough for markets at least, and they could see a curtained area with supports that went up. Blake examined the supports and noticed it was actually an elevator in disguise.

"That has to be it. The shape of the catacombs place it directly underneath the platform." Blake gestured to the box shaped building in the center. "How do we do this?" They group continued to approach it slowly.

"We'll keep you covered near the thing, see if you can confirm if that is the bomb or not. Uhh...Yell if you need help and we'll come storming in." Welkin ordered. "Don't risk your neck too much. If you can't do it, we can just breach and clear." Blake nodded and stalked off into the shadows. Yang and Welkin continued walking straight toward it. They stood a couple feet from the open area around the elevator, watching the few guards milling about. Welkin turned around and pulled out the magnum and reloaded it.

"...Yang, I hope you know that we might end up killing a few of these guys." Welkin slapped the magazine in and snapped the slide shut.

Yang stood there next to him, watching the guards. "I...I know."

"If you don't want to you don't have to. Knocking them out is just as good. Just know that these guys will wa-"

"Welkin, can you spare me the moral lecture now? We need to do this." Yang stopped him and focused. Welkin nodded and reloaded his sniper rifle as well.

"Red Rose, Red Rose, do you copy?" Welkin typed into his phone. He sent the message to Ruby. 'Belladonna is moving to check target location.' Ruby sent back an acknowledgement. He slipped the phone back into his pocket and began waiting. They could feel the tension already begin rising.

XxXxXxXxX

The alleyways and whatnot were dark, but that helped Blake more than anything. Her sharp hearing and night sight was truly a boon to her ability to avoid guards. She had managed to pick the lock of one of the doors and took a peek inside. Four large floodlights illuminated the room, pointed in the direction of the covered object. Blake noticed there were several guards in the room. Another guard had appeared and pulled the cover to reveal a black sarcophagus. The object was whirring, making a fairly loud racket. The minion inserted a black colored crystal into the sarcophagus, causing it to whir even louder.

Blake was about to leave with her findings when she bumped into someone she had hoped to never see again.

"Adam..." Blake hissed and reached for her weapon.

"Blake...So you did come back to us. And here I thought you were too stubborn to." Adam looked at the lady.

"I am not here to join you. If that is what you are implying."

"Then you are here to stop us. I don't think you understand the amount of power we have with this. We will succeed. We will make the Faunus equal to humanity, if not better. Do you not see that?" Adam blocked her way from rallying with her team mates. She could guess he knew they were here because it's really hard to hide a tall courier and a blonde bombshell.

"All I see is a madman hell bent on destroying a city for a cause. A cause that no one will realize when they see it is on our hands! Will that justify our cause any further? Adding more blood to our hands?" Blake glared at the masked man.

"Freedom is -won- with blood Blake. No freedom has ever come without it. In history, time and time again, people shed blood for their ideals. What makes this time any different? Why should White Fang lay down their arms and surrender?" Blake refused to answer. "Your silence is your answer. I would like to thank you for delivering the last part to me." Adam held up the pouch that contained the device Professor Ozpin entrusted them. "I expected you to not carry something like this on you. It seems I was wrong. Good day. And don't interfere."

Blake immediately whipped her blade out and held it to his neck, but he was just as fast with the draw and held the blade to her chest, ready to thrust. "Damn you."

"Lower it. You do not have the strength." Adam stated plainly. And he was right, damn him. Blake hesitated. Adam took that moment shove her back with his free hand. Blake reeled back and stumbled on a loose cobblestone. Adam immediately retreated into the structure. Blake ran over to where Yang and Welkin were immediately and yelled for them.

"GO!"

XxXxXxXxX

They were waiting those few tense minutes for a signal of some sorts. Yang had hoped that Blake would come back and they could simply infiltrate it someway, but the spunky part of her knew she really wanted to kick some ass also.

Welkin heard the shout from a mile away. He approached the outside guard. The guard lifted his shotgun and pointed it at Welkin, "HEY YOU! STO-" He didn't finish the sentence before Welkin caved his head in with his fist. The hydraulics on his fist reset themselves into the ready position afterwards. Welkin pulled out his last flash bang and looked at Yang, who just finished reloading her gauntlets. He also picked up the trench shotgun on the floor.

Yang smirked and gave a thumbs up, and Welkin swat kicked the door down. The door flew several feet before skidding to a halt and Welkin threw a flash bang into the air. The resounding crack and cries of the minions signaled for them to move in. Welkin ran in immediately after and blew one of the minions away with a shotgun shell. The pellets impacted with the target and sent him flying into the wall. Yang immediately follows in and launches herself at the next closest mook, pounding away at him. A minion raised his machete to cleave Yang, but Welkin puts a shell into him and sends him flying like a rock. He immediately started slam firing the shotgun into the rest of the minions, a look of malicious glee on his face as he popped any poor sucker in range. It just so happened they all were.

Yang wasted no time after owning the first minion and pounced on the next, axe kicking him into the ground. She was about to shoot another one when the ribbons of Gambol Shroud wrapped around his neck and twisted, killing him quickly. Blake opened fire with one of her pistols. She immediately transformed the gun into her sword and charged, swiftly attacking another minion. The man yelled "GOTCHA!" and swung at Blake when she was open, but the illusion puffed into nothingness. He was immediately brought down by Blake from behind. Blake continued to shift around the room, causing confusion for anyone targeting her.

Welkin ran and slammed the butt stock of the shotgun into one of the more armored minions, sending him reeling back but relatively unharmed. He dropped the empty shotgun and proceeded to elbow drop the man while he was down, cracking several of his ribs and incapitating him. A more heavily armored man burst in and swung a large bat at Yang. Yang managed to raise her gauntlets and block, sliding back from the impact. She grit her teeth and charged, getting into extremely close range with the man. She immediately pounded him skyward as each punch damaged or destroyed the heavy plating he was wearing. She jumped and spiked him down, knocking him out right then and there.

"Watch out!" Welkin managed to shove her out of the way as Adam dropped down and quick drew his blade. The diagonal slash created a vertical cut that went from above his left eyebrow down to just the left of the mouth. Welkin winced and grabbed his face, staring at the masked man. "Round two, dipstick." He immediately charged the man while he was placing the sword back in his sheathe. Adam looked up, right when Welkin's fist slammed into his chest unexpectedly. The man was launched back onto the sarcophagus, a little shocked with electricity from the punch.

"Your punches have more force this time around. Come then, let us see who goes to Valhalla tonight!" Adam readjusted his stance and shifted. The two men charged at each other, Welkin skidded to a halt and lifted his gauntlets to block, Adam drew his blade and made a horizontal slash. The blade deflected against the gauntlets, leaving him open to Welkin shoulder tackling him. The larger man bowled the masked one away, causing Adam to roll back into fighting stance. Welkin slammed his fists together.

"Is this a joke?! COM'ON. FIGHT ME." Welkin slammed his fists together again, "COM'ON!" Some sparks flew from his fists as he slammed them. Welkin grinned cockily. The masked man, if you could see it, rolled his eyes in annoyance. He readjusted his stance, ready to go again. The two circled each other some more as Yang and Blake engaged the rest of the minions.

Yang shot herself forward and weaved between bullets while the two dueled around the sarcophagus. She fired her gauntlets behind her and slid up to a minion, upper cutting him with a shot-punch before roundhouse kicking him away. Blake slammed the sickle form of her sword into a minion and fired it, sending it whipping away. She twirled the dangerous weapon and kept its momentum by firing it, dancing around her foes as if she was a ballerina. Another heavily armored man came bursting in, armed with a tower shield. He deflected the flying sickle away, causing Blake to redirect it. The sickle flew around and came to a stop when Blake embedded it into the wall. "Go!"

Yang turned around and jumped on the rope, using it like a spring board. Yang fired several shots at the man, who blocked it with his huge shield. She blew right past him and fired into his blind side, causing the man to stumble. The armored man turned around and swung his mace at Yang, missing horribly due to the blonde's speed. He paused and then fell over, realizing too late that he made a mistake. Blake had embedded the sickle into his spine, paralyzing him forever. Yang grinned and laughed as she rocketed off to go beat up some reinforcements. Blake looked at the current state of Adam and Welkin's duel...when Welkin came skidding to a halt next to her from blocking a heavy slash. "Fine?"

"YEAH!" Welkin burst off again, running as fast as he could to re-engage. Adam readied himself for another slash. He thought to himself, this was getting predictable, and prepared to end the 'duel.' He quick drew...but something else happened instead of him knocking Welkin away. The courier had dug his heels into the ground, and locked himself down with his greaves. Welkin caught the blade as hard as he could and deflected it with his left hand, putting Adam off balance. He immediately pulled out his magnum from the holster and fired several times at the masked man. Adam fell backwards from the multiple bullet wounds. He gritted his teeth and got back up ready, staring down the smoking barrel of the magnum.

"Checkmate." Welkin had his sights on Adam's head. He grinned and was about to fire when Adam swept past him at an incredible speed. He could feel the gash on his side from the slice, his hold on the magnum also severed when Adam passed him. Welkin's magnum clattered away. He turned around quickly to see Adam aiming his rifle at him.

"Indeed it is." The masked fighter fired at the courier twice...when Blake's weapon interrupted and yanked it away at the second shot. The first bullet connected with Welkin's armored chest, causing a bad bruise to form from the impact site, the second one ricocheted off the walls harmlessly. Adam looked at Blake in surprise, "Well then." He flicked a remote he hand and jumped up from his position.

The room started shaking slightly and rumbled. The platform began raising, "Time for the finale of man, and the beginning of our revolution!" He grinned. Adam leapt onto the platform and quick drew his blade, hoping to knock Welkin off more than kill. The tactic had failed however, as Welkin had planted himself onto the ground firmly enough to not go reeling off. The sudden movement jolted him slightly as well, but he stood there ready to duel it out on the sarcophagus' platform.

"Get back up here! Now!" Welkin yelled to Yang and Blake, as they ascended to the main stage. Blake jumped and shot her sickle out. The weapon connected against something solid and she slung herself onto the platform. Yang took the less flashy approach and simply shot herself onto the platform. The three rallied up and faced the man, who had since circled his way around Welkin to the sarcophagus. "Don't do it. You'll regret it."

"On the contrary, I will not. This is necessary, is it not?! The Faunus need to be freed! Freed from oppression! The oppression your kind puts us through! Do you see this rally?!" Adam raised his arms as the platform hit its destination. Hundreds...almost thousands from what it seemed like, packed the market. All Faunus. They were there for the rally, as they were for rallies around the city. Welkin and the other two gulped at the daunting thought of having to kill a group's shepherd in front of their flock.

"Adam, don't do it. You don't know what it'll do for goodness sake!" Blake cried out and stepped forward.

"Silence! You will not stop this! I hereby declare, the revolution is here!" Adam slammed the last piece into the sarcophagus. The machine began whirring loudly and glowed a nasty shade of purple. A beam of light came out and touched the ceiling, awing the rally. A web like formation began forming, and a very large one at that.

XxXxXxXxX

Professor Ozpin looked out from his window and into the storm. He frowned immediately. He could see it forming. They might have failed. It was about to begin. Professor Ozpin sighed and grabbed his message pad. He sent out to his available staff: "Bringer of Light." He closed the pad and kept a careful watch on the growing web like lattice system. He could hear the Professors hurrying to the meeting room near his office.

XxXxXxXxX

Elsewhere, Torchwick grinned. He pulled out the message tablet and typed into it, "Bloody Friday." He sent the message out and turned around. Torchwick half expected those monkeys to destroy it by accident...but it seemed they served their purpose well enough: They were dumb enough to believe that the box was good for them. He didn't need to intervene as he thought he would.

The rest of the sarcophagi were going to activate within a few hours. In the mean while, he had to retreat. He needed to get away from the city if his plan for Exodus was going to work. He smiled at Junior, who nodded to him. The twins and several of his gang had brought the airship for them to evacuate. He was surprised when Junior took the offer, considering he was neutral to Exodus and cared more about being a superb information broker.

"Target Reference Point has been painted sir. The devices will be ready in around an hour or two, given no delays." A minion handed him a data pad.

"Let's get away from here then. To your base then." Junior turned and get on one of the airships with the twins and his minions.

"I'm surprised you decided to come along, Junior." Torchwick smiled slightly at the big, bearded man. The man turned around and walked back over after telling the twins to get on board.

"You should know by now I do this for their safety. Not mine." Junior grunted. The smoking man simply nodded, somewhat amused by his devotion to the girls. The two boarded their respective airships and took off away from the bay, and to a nondescript island.

XxXxXxXxX

Chris stared at the eerie sarcophagus. He looked at his hands for a moment. He knew...he knew if he did this he would be responsible. The blood will be on his hands, and he knew it. He checked his phone and read it. "Bloody Friday...it's time to go." He gestured to his mercenary group who were organized around the facility. They were armed without dust equipment, so they would not be as badly affected by the sarcophagus. He sent a quick message to Erin, knowing he would potentially never speak to her again. His men numbered roughly in the thirties, about a platoon and some amount of men. They locked their magazines into their weapons or sharpened their blades. Chris gestured for men to watch the windows and doors. A few of them began setting up heavy tripod mounted autocannons. They were ready to fight tooth and nail for this sarcophagus. Thankfully the industrial district had plenty of cover.

XxXxXxXxX

Erin rested her cheek on the cheek rest for her rifle. She was 1800 meters away from the sarcophagus. The storm was making the wind change rapidly, so she had set up a Kestral Wind Counter near her scope. She clicked the scope a few times, fine tuning it to make the first shot the perfect shot. Erin cleaned off the scope with a cloth as well. She leaned back away from the tripod mounted rifle, looking out the massive clock tower she was using as an outpost. One person to defend one sarcophagus? Easy. She pulled out her phone and checked the message from Chris. She smiled softly to herself and closed it, putting it next to her. She adjusted her position again and looked back down her scope at the construction yard the sarcophagus was positioned in. This was going to be interesting. She muttered a prayer, "Grandfather...if you can hear this...freedom is coming. I'm going to make sure it happens." She refocused on the target, scanning the residential area for interlopers.

XxXxXxXxX

Ruby and the others were not sure what the others were doing. The entire time the Faunus leaders of White Fang were giving off inspirational speeches about freedom and how it was time for the Faunus to stand up for their rights properly. They were sufficiently spread out among the crowd, ready to tackle anything in case something went south.

Finally, the lights dimmed somewhat in the market. The storm outside had come back again at the same moment, as lightning lit the night sky outside and the sound of roaring thunder shook the ground. The center stage lights had come on and the large central platform began rising. They were sufficiently close. And they could see it. A masked man, Welkin, Yang, and Blake...and finally. The box. Faustus' Box.

"I HEREBY DECLARE, THE REVOLUTION IS HERE!" The masked man near the sarcophagus slammed something into the machine. They could feel the dust already being sapped as it whirred loudly, louder than the storm outside. A beam of light shot out from the box and into the ceiling, most likely out of it as well. They could see the web forming. The crowd began cheering wildly, the din raising several decibels.

"Oh no. We have to move! Everyone, get to the center platform!" Ruby yelled into the cell phone. The others sounded in acknowledgement and she and Weiss began moving. However, they were stopped by rather mean looking White Fang members.

"You're not going to stop this! This revolution is here, didn't you hear?! Bear witness to the coming glory of Faunus! And if you are trying to stop us, then you shall die!" She heard one of them yell. Ruby and Weiss drew their weapons immediately, they were badly outnumbered in a crowd of frenzied Faunus, nothing would change that. But it didn't matter.

"We've got to move Ruby. And I say we should move -now.-" Weiss suggested as the two began bolting it towards the stage. They blew past several of the armed guards and made their way over the crowds. The teams converged on the central stage, ready to stop the box from activating.

XxXxXxXxX

Adam smiled as his plans were coming to fruition. Here, it was going to begin. He was not allowed a chance to revel in victory however. Blake's scythe found its mark and the strong ribbon coiled around him, constricting him. Yang immediately pounced on him as well, holding him down after punching him in the solar plexus. Adam had the wind knocked out of him and rolled over in pain, gasping for air. Yang held the man down, as well as the ribbon. Welkin immediately ran up to the charging sarcophagus.

"Ooook. I have NO idea what I'm doing!" Welkin kicked the sarcophagus' cover off hard, sending the lid rattling away. The rest of the second team rallied up at the platform as Welkin tore parts and things off, trying to figure out how to deactivate it.

"We got your back!" He heard Pyrrha yell.

"E-everyone stay back! This is a bomb!" Jaune yelled. The crowd cried in confusion. The panic was going to set in and replace the energy with fear...and Jaune had to stop that. Jaune immediately ran over and grabbed a microphone, shield bashing a poor minion holding onto it. "Everyone, I need you all to remain calm. This is indeed a very dangerous weapon but we're going to deactivate it. This whole thing from White Fang was simply a trap to try and discredit the Faunus and cause untold amounts of harm! There is no need to panic badly, we've got it under control!" The crowd hushed somewhat at his words. He could hear the loud murmuring of confusion. White Fang lied? They were planning on killing a lot of people? That was a bomb?! Weren't they at the center?

Jaune sighed as the people thankfully calmed down somewhat. The panic was still -very- apparent, but it seemed as no one was going to go trampling over others. He could hear the storm rolling outside again, and no one had trampled another yet. Pyrrha nudged his shoulder as she kept her rifle on the White Fang at the steps. "Nicely handled."

"Hoo...thanks. Thanks...now about that box..." Jaune turned around to see Welkin kicking the shit out of it.

"Alright, let's do it my way you little bastard." Welkin kicked off a panel on the inside and found the trigger that Adam had stolen earlier. He reached in and grabbed it-big mistake. The electricity overloaded in his arm and shocked him badly. He reeled backwards in pain and cried out. The gauntlet on his arm was now charred black instead of the blood red it used to me. He felt the heat and electricity dancing in his arm and he flexed to test it. "Still good. Okay, let's try again."

Welkin got back up and looked over the machine. He scanned for something important looking...something important...oh. Well, that was simple enough. He looked at the grey colored box with yellow words stenciled to it "PWR SUP." He cracked it open with his left hand and looked inside it. Underneath all sorts of strange machinery, he could see the heart. The black crystal that pulsated and charged it. The sarcophagus whirred louder and was reaching the apex of its activation. The energy to use it was there. And to make it worse, it was going to go off. "HERE WE GO!" Welkin slammed his charred right arm into the box and ripped the guts out of it. He put a boot on the sarcophagus as he dragged out the crystal that was attached to numerous wires. He tugged again and the wires snapped, sending him falling on his back with the crystal.

The box whirred to a maximum, about to activate. A second glow was coming from it and an energy ball engulfed the sarcophagus and a little bit around it, almost touching Welkin's feet. Then the device died. The beam of light disappeared, as with the circle which collapsed on itself and popped, sending a small shockwave nearby. The glowing lattice system slowly disappeared. It had grown to the size of about one fourth of the city, including around parts of Beacon. The rain engulfed the remaining dust, and the crack of thunder sounded, as if signaling the end of ordeal.

Welkin held his arm, still in pain from the horrible shock. He knew he was lucky enough to let go, otherwise he could have cooked himself. He wiped the sweat from his brow and got up carefully, making sure to not cause more damage on any wounds he suffered. The crowd was silent and watched the man who had destroyed the mysterious box. He raised the crystal in the air, "ALL CLEAR!" He yelled triumphantly. He grinned cockily and put the crystal away to be disposed of.

The crowd was awestruck. On one hand, they were thankful they destroyed a device that could have destroyed them...on the other they took away the bargaining chip they had to get equality. Blake immediately picked up a microphone as the White Fang scattered. They could hear police sirens approaching. "Everyone! Listen to me! The plight of the Faunus isn't going to end with violence! The blood of innocents only leads to more blood! I don't want us to be remembered as 'beasts' because we sought freedom from violence! Only by peaceful protest can we truly attain freedom, freedom without hatred! I know that it won't be over night. I know it won't be instant. But please! This is the wrong path!" Blake put the microphone down as the rallied Faunus looked at each other and went silent, went into deep thought.

"Hey uh..guys? The cops are here, what do we do?" Ruby looked at the approaching officers and EOD squad. They were pushing their way past the rally of Faunus.

"Well, we aren't responsible, we kinda saved the day you know!" Yang grinned and kept a hold on Adam. Blake walked over to Adam.

"Damn you. You ruined everything you realize that? That bullshit about freedom from peace, you know it's not true. General Delanoir shared the same sentiment and he ended up in the ground! This would have been revenge for these mongrels killing him!"

"I know. Which is why I won't have you sink further into it Adam. Our voice of reason died because someone wanted him gone...and it only made our organization angry. The enemy of our people wanted White Fang to overreact and do something rash...Adam you can help us stop this. Where did you get the sarcophagus from?"

Adam glared at her, "Do you really believe I would tell you?" Yang yanked him up and cracked her knuckles as Ren and Nora held him still.

"How about you tell me then?" The blonde grinned menacingly. Adam stared at her, not amused.

"Your worst is nothing to be afraid of. I have nothing to say." Yang immediately slammed her fist at full force into his gut, knocking the wind out of him again.

"Ya better tell us or you'll get it again."

"Burn in hell." Welkin walked over and grabbed the masked man by the collar and lifted him up.

"No my friend, that would be you if you don't talk." Welkin's spring loaded fist activated in his free hand, the horrifying hissing noise from the hydraulics sounding quite near him. "Remember the last time I punched you? Ready to get your head caved in?" He lifted his fist and grinned, "After all, I owe you for the Canyon battle."

Adam shook slightly, Blake and the others could see the fear begin to settle in. Here was a pissed off brawler who he almost killed, back for revenge. It would not be pretty.

"Fine! I'll talk. Industrial, Residential, and Dock. That's where I suspect the rest are. We intercepted this one that was on the way to the Commercial district." Adam confessed. Welkin lowered his fist and clapped a hand on his shoulder with a smirk.

"See? That wasn't hard." Welkin turned around and picked up the empty trench shotgun that he discarded earlier. He looked up and was faced with several officers pointing rifles at him. He immediately put the shotgun on his back and raised his hands. A detective walked up to him. "Detective."

"Now see here boy, you're under arrest. All of you, for conspiring to blow up the city with that...bomb thing." The detective was about to try and handcuff the courier when Ruby interjected. He could make out Detective Burns on his badge.

"Wait! Sir! We can explain! We stopped the box from going off!" Ruby looked at the officers. She put her scythe away to be less intimidating.

"Sure sure, and I'm the leprechaun. Come along no-What is it?" He turned around to a swat officer. The officer handed him a message from 'up above.' "What? You kidding? Release these twerps?" The officer nodded and muttered something. "Ah, alright. Okay kids, ya'll going back to Beacon instead. There's an airship here to get ya'll. Get outta here 'fore I change my mind."

Several suited men joined the group of cops as everyone dispersed into the storm. They flashed a badge, Bureau of Intelligence, and went over to examine the sarcophagus. The group left and boarded the airship that was marked with Beacon's emblem. They were greeted to the sight of Professor Ozpin.

"Professor! What are you do-" Weiss began, but Professor Ozpin held up his hand.

"I am here to congratulate you on your initiative and success. You managed to stop one of these boxes...but I fear I must cut your celebration short." The professor looked at the group. "There is trouble in the city, as you could tell. I believe you found out the other three locations?" The teams nodded their heads. "I know where two of them are exactly. Warehouse D14 on the Docks, and Midias Tower construction yard. We shall return to Beacon to prepare for now. You've all done quite well, all things considering."

The group sighed and nodded at the Professor, as Jaune and Ruby marked the locations on their phones. On the ride back they reported everything they knew to Professor Ozpin, who could only nod. They did their share of saving the city for today. Or at least tonight.

XxXxXxXxX

Notes:

I think everything is lining up appropriately. So far, so good as I can tell! I would like to ask though, how is my writing? Is the action fluid? Is the lore relatively within check? Am I writing these characters well and am I giving any OCs a three-dimensional personality? Are there mary-sues (I sure as hell hope not.) Feel free to leave feedback! It helps me improve! Also I listened to the spoiler cast for RWBY done by the lovely ladies of RT, and I apologize if there's any areas that I put Fauni, Faunuses, etc. Plural should be Faunus if I heard correctly. Again, correct me if I'm wrong. I began writing this part before I saw the spoiler cast.

Also, not sure if anyone got the reference in the part title: Target Reference Point. It's a term the military uses to help designate fire from artillery (generally.) Usually it's an easily recognized point in the area that commanders can use to initiate, distribute, and control fire.

_Encyclopedia Entry:_

_Alabaster State Penitentiary. The prison for Vale. it's located off the bay, similar to "Alcatraz Island," and contains some of the most notorious criminals out there. If a person is not kept inside a local prison temporarily, they are usually shipped out here. Impossible to escape due to the waters surrounding the bay, and incredibly hard to break open, this prison is the ultimate fortress. It was originally built to defend against pirates, owing to it's large harbor to accommodate warships. The prison itself is a large multi-level complex that goes deep under ground and towers upwards. Rumors have it that more rowdy prisoners are kept in the underbelly of the prison. Some guards have openly come out and said that each level under ground represents a part of hell a person is going to. The fortress is set in a ring formation, with a large portion of the center being cut away to reveal each level of the prison. At the very bottom, or "the Pit," prisoners are tasked to mine endlessly. Surface level buildings and above are mostly facilities to keep the prison working, but there are rumors that some of them contain the "well off prisoners" and "mentally insane." No matter what crime, most likely a prisoner will end up here...and only go deeper. Notable people who have served stints there include: Junior Xiong (released on Good Behavior,) Roman Torchwick (released on -DELETED-,) and Welkin Fenrir (released on Good Behavior.)_


	13. Part Eight: Target Reference Point (B)

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, but I'd like to claim ownership of original ideas or concepts.

Intro Notes: We forge onwards! Welcome to Part 8, Side B. Null Ein. I don't think I'll waste your time reading intro notes, so let us begin!

XxXxXxXxX

**Chapter Two: Devil's Four**

Part 8: Target Reference Point

Side B: Null Ein

XxXxXxXxX

Welkin was working at the artificer table in the armory. He picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip, before continuing work on the gauntlet. The heat from the armory had gotten to him earlier, and he had pulled off his coat and button up shirt. He still had on a grey sleeveless shirt underneath. Around the armory were students, hunters, and a few professors preparing their gear for combat. He could see some of team RWBY and JNPR around as well.

The electricity from the Sarcophagus had fried a few of the circuits, causing some of the gauntlet to go haywire. Welkin tweaked the settings, causing it to spring and extend. Welkin worked on the dust wiring some more, and he was planning on switching out the dust canister afterwards. The group had been working around the clock, prepping their gear. He had his phone charging on the side, while it was connected to a pair of silver headphones. He was playing music while working and singing to himself.

He was drumming with a screwdriver along to the song, "I burn...can't hold me now..." He winced and dropped the screwdriver when the pain from his wounds shot up again. "Ow son of a..." Welkin pounded his fist against the bench, "Ugh, I should cut the tough guy routine and double check...his is really starting to drain me."

"That you should. By the way, nice singing. And those scars and muscles..." Yang purred jokingly and winked at the courier. Yang nudged his arm to further get his attention.. Welkin smirked a bit. Welkin pulled off his headphones and placed em on the table, turning slightly to look at Yang. She had given Ember Celica to Ruby to fix up for her. "You don't look okay."

"Nah I look fine, my aura's working over time is all." Welkin waved his hand and returned to work on the wiring of Vermilion Blitz. He cringed again when Yang slapped a hand onto his shoulder.

"Aw com'on, you're pale as all heck. Not to mention just touching you hurts. Com'on, let's go to the infirmary."

"Yang I really don't think we've got ti-" Yang decided to ignore his opinion and dragged him along, "Wait, lemme get my coat at least!" Yang let go as Welkin went over to pull on his shirt and coat. "Why are you so persistent anyways?"

"Because I'm worried you might do something stupid again." Yang crossed her arms and gestured with a hand. Welkin fell in line behind her, leaving his gear to be finished off later. "Don't worry about your gear. I'm sure Ruby would probably fix it for you later. She's got a knack for doing things without us knowing."

"I'm fine Yang. Really. The stab wound isn't there anymore and the bruises are pretty much healed up! The picture of perfect health!" Welkin grinned nervously at her. She knew he was lying, and he reasoned he should probably stop faking it.

"Alright, stand still then." Welkin obliged and raised an eyebrow, only to realize too lat- Yang had given him one of her hardest punches to the gut, and sent him crashing down the hall. He slammed into a cart that Weiss happened to be wheeling out and skidded face down on the floor to a halt. He tried to push himself up from the ground, but ultimately just slumped down there face down. "Ugh..."

"Hey! Be careful! This is highly volatile stuff!" Weiss ran over to pick up the scattered boxes of dust and crystals she had gone to get. Ruby and Blake ran over to check out what the crash was.

"Is everything alright ladies and gentlemen?" Professor Port appeared from around the corner, working with other hunters and huntresses at school to prepare their gear. He had come at the sound of the crash.

"Yeah, everything's alright. Just Crasher living up to his name." Yang walked over slowly. She pulled him up onto her shoulders and muttered to him, "Told ya."

"I can't feel my spleen." Welkin joked, coughing harshly. The blow had done a number on him, especially since he was off guard and unarmored. He used his free hand to hold onto the bruise forming under the bandages. "And I feel like my aura is starting to rebel for all the damage."

"Aww don't be such a big baby. We're going to the infirmary. We'll be back later 'kay?" The team nodded at Yang as she shuffled the taller man out. Ruby stared at the two and rubbed her chin.

"You are wondering the same thing I am, Ruby." Blake said as the two returned to their work bench. Blake continued to work with the hand reloader, inserting fresh bullets into her magazines. Ruby had lost hers, and was simply brute forcing the huge rounds into the box magazine.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ruby winced when the bullet shot out of her hand and clattered away instead of getting into the magazine. She shook her hand and blew on it.

"You're wondering what's going on between the two. I am too. They're too friendly with each other right?" Blake grinned.

"Well...yeah...something is kinda suspicious. I don't remember Yang ever really mentioning Welkin at home...though I doubt she would want to talk about a guy with Uncle Qrow nearby." Ruby picked up the bullet and tried again. "This stupid...bullet..."

"Here let me help you." Blake pulled out her filled magazine and placed Ruby's into the reloader now. She put the bullets from Ruby's hand into the box magazine with a few cranks. "She never mentioned him? That's weird. They seem really close."

"Well, I think she mentioned him once or twice. I'm fairly certain she told that story behind his nickname because Uncle Qrow wanted to know why she ended up in the infirmary..." Ruby thought back to the story Yang had told them...

XxXxXxXxX

Welkin reluctantly sat down on the bed as a nurse came over and started replacing the bandages. "You can blame her for the new bruise." Yang grinned as the nurse slapped on some medical tape to secure the fresh bandages.

"You're probably going to need more of that salve."

"Yeah? Thanks for the other bruise. You knocked the wind out of me." Welkin rubbed his stomach gently. He sighed and swallowed the nasty concoction they call a healing salve. He still felt tired, despite everything.

"So...what was that paper that Ozpin gave ya?" Welkin raised an eye at Yang.

"This? Hm. Just a job that Ozpin wanted me to do. I'm not sure how many people he wants me to bring. He wanted me to go check out Azure Chemical Works. He got word that something was going on over there and I'm going to go check it out. I'm supposed to take a team with me, but I don't know about that..."

"You sure you're combat ready? You look way too tired to actually fight. Why don't you let us handle it?" Welkin shook his head, "Oh don't be so stubborn."

"I just need some rest without someone thumping me really hard is all. Just a short nap and I'll be good to go. Besides, you saw all that medicine I drank! I'll be alright." Welkin waved his hand dismissively and tried to stand up after pulling back on his red shirt. Yang immediately pushed him right back down.

"Just stay down for a while okay? Nothing bad will happen! I promise you that much." Yang grinned. "Do it as a favor to me okay...?"

"I'd..." Welkin began, but then stopped. "Alright, yeah. I'll consent. Though you don't need to watch me. I'll just take a nap here. Come get me when something happens okay?" Welkin swung his legs back onto the bed. He pulled off his red shirt and put it next to his coat.

"Sure thing Crasher. Just uh...yell if you need anything!" Yang excused herself as Welkin waved. She turned smiling and ran into Blake and Ruby. "...Uh. Hey guys!"

"Hey Yang. Uh..." Ruby smiled nervously and looked at Blake. "We were uh...wondering..."

"We were wondering if you two were in a relationship." Yang blinked a few times, taken aback by how blunt Blake was. Yang raised an eyebrow at the two and grinned.

"Why? Ya'll jealous?" Yang teased, "If you guys want you can go and 'steal' him from me. He's quite a catch too, hard working, reliable...and mmh. What can I say?" Ruby and Blake turned as red as Ruby's cloak.

"T-that's not what we're asking." Blake crossed her arms. Yang slung her arms around their necks and led them away back to the armory.

"Welllll...maybe I am maybe I am not! Why does it matter?" The group passed by a window when they saw the most peculiar thing.

XxXxXxXxX

Torchwick looked at the activator in his hands. Zero One failed. He raised an eyebrow and read the reports of teenagers taking down 'White Fang's terrorist plot.' A part of him was disappointed. He was too far to go remedy the situation, and now that the dumb cops were crawling all over Zero One it was going to be impossible to move it. "Kids these days are just getting weirder and weirder..." he muttered and turned to look at one of his minions. The minion handed him a slate with three things written on it: NULL ZWEI: Ready. NULL DREI: Ready. NULL VIER: Ready.

He tossed the slate onto the command table and looked over the map. He lifted up the trigger mechanism and smiled. Torchwick turned to address his men.

"Gentlemen, today we embark on our crusade! Today we take back what is ours, and free this miserable country from the politicos in charge. We will establish ourselves as heroes, we shall take charge of this week and pitiful government! Today all our work in stealing all that dust and crystal pays off! Ready the guns men, Vale's in for one incredible fireworks show." Torchwick flicked the three switches, ignoring NULL EIN. He turned and looked at the coastline from the island base they were using.

Across the city he could see three beams of light similar to Null Ein. He could see the lattice work forming as the city began going dark all over the place. He covered his eyes when the lattices collapsed and exploded, showering the city in darkness...and powering down all dust powered equipment in the city. He checked his video feed from one of the walls his men had set up. He could see a tide of grimm moving in. Without dust the walls would not hold, and he knew the soldiers were going to be turned into red paint soon enough.

"Mount up gentlemen! We have a city to 'liberate' in ten!" He could hear the cheers of his men as they filed into multiple gunships and drop ships. The whirring of engines turning on (as the island was thankfully not in the radius of the lattice work,) as pilots prepared to fly out.

"Well done. Except for zero one." He turned to see Cinder. He nearly jumped again at her sudden appearance.

"W-well. It certainly worked out despite the hurdles. I'm sure you'll be pleased to know things are actually going as planned."

"And the boxes?" She strolled over to look at the map.

"I have some of the best fighters available protecting them. Your work on the sarcophagus has proven to us that it will contain dust until it's deactivated. And even then, deactivating the sarcophagus might cause it to overload." Cinder nodded at Torchwick's words.

"Get it done. And you'll be rewarded handsomely. Our plans are coming along well." Cinder turned around and left. Torchwick rolled his eyes and watched as they finished up preparations.

XxXxXxXxX

"Uh...ya'll see that?" Yang looked at the three beams of light. "Wait...wait isn't that the same-"

"Yeah! We have to go tell the pro-" Alarms around the school began ringing. The three watched as the lattice work expanded over a large area of the city. The lattice then collapsed on itself, causing an explosion and disabling everything in the three districts. From a glance they could see the industrial district and residential district had gone down, and they could guess the docks were also offline. The two lattice webs in the industrial and residential area disabled a large section of the wall guarding Vale. They turned around and as Welkin burst out of the door, pulling on his jacket haphazardly.

"What's with the racket!? I lay down for a minute or so and then there's hells bells ringing all over the place!"

"Everythings...offline! Those must have been the other boxes! Quick, we gotta get our gear an-"

"All students and staff, report immediately to the main hall for an emergency announcement. I repeat, all students and staff please report immediately to the main hall for an emergency meeting. This is not a drill." Professor Goodwitch's voice echoed from the announcement system in the school. They could see the commercial district was relatively untouched by the damage, as was Beacon itself.

"No time for that it seems. Let's hurry and get to the main hall. It must be important." Blake gestured for the group to follow.

"You can say that again." Yang said and moved quickly.

They jogged down the halls and went through the surging mass of students that were assembling in the Great Hall. Professors, students, upper classmen, even a lot of the regular staff was present for the meeting. Weiss waved them down as they took a position in the center of the throng.

"Good, you're all here. I think we're going to get started soon. It's supposed to be really important." Weiss crossed her arms and looked at the front stage, where Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch stood ready.

"Good evening everyone. I apologize for the inconvenience and the late hour. A disaster has hit the fair city of Vale, and as the hunters and huntresses of Vale we are to protect the citizens of this city. Report to your attending professor for combat assignments. This includes lower classmen and students currently enrolled." Professor Ozpin began. He gestured with his cane sword at a student who raised his hand.

"But sir, aren't they too inexperienced for combat?" It was an upperclassmen.

"Indeed they are. And there is no better way to attain combat experience than from actual combat. That being said. Not all assignments are combat assignments. Rest assured I would not put any of my students in severe danger. For those still worried, lower classmen will most likely be retained for support roles. Everyone is dismissed, godspeed." Professor Ozpin turned around and left. The crowd began murmuring among each other as they went to find their commanding professor. Team RWBY and JNPR went to look for Professor Port.

"Over here ladies and gentlemen! Over here!" They could hear the portly man over the din. They were ushered into a classroom with several other teams of lower classmen. Welkin went outside to the main entrance to wait for them. He claimed he needed some fresh air, the crowded halls were uncomfortable compared to the cool storm outside.

"As you all know, I have your current postings now. Most of you are being assigned to the residential area to provide cover for civilians retreating into the commercial district. A portion shall also be setting up areas around Beacon to provide refugee points for retreating civilians. I do not believe any teams on this list has actual combat duties, that being said." Professor Ozpin began going through a clipboard filled with papers. He began calling out teams one by one, and each teams' leader went forth to collect their assignment. Some teams shared their assignments with others. As Ozpin had said, most of them (lower classmen) had received civilian guard duty. A few of them were unlucky enough to have to set up equipment for civilians in the rain. However, a few lucky teams (read: skilled,) were lucky enough to go on combat patrols.

"And finally Team JNPR. There's trouble brewing at a construction yard. Professor Ozpin has warned me that an entire SWAT team was eliminated quite brutally. Here's the details for your mission." Professor Port handed the last paper to Jaune.

Jaune looked it over. "Combat patrol? Seriously? Oh man..." Jaune looked at the paper some more. Construction yard...They were supposed to patrol a construction yard with a group of upper classmen and a hunter team. Someone had taken out a SWAT team in the area, as they stopped responding to their radios. The lack of power in the area also makes it hard to pinpoint where they actually fell. Jaune handed the paper to Pyrrha to look at.

"What? Are you kidding me? A buncha pipsqueaks like you going on combat patrol? You're all gonna die." Jaune heard Cardin sling an insult at them. He chose to ignore it, no sense in picking a fight with the dumb. Professor Port admonished the bigger man and excused himself, as well as the other groups. They moved to join their groups.

"Wait! Professor! You didn't give us an assignment!" Ruby chased after the rotund man. He turned around and his mustache twitched. He pulled out a letter and handed it to her.

"Be careful. No words can express how dangerous this task is." The man quickly excused himself to prepare for combat. Ruby opened up the letter.

'To Team RWBY,

As you are aware of the situation the most, I feel it would be a waste to not send you all into the maw of the void. This task, should you accept it, will be dangerous. Professor Goodwitch managed to pinpoint one of the sarcophagi that you had reported to have stopped earlier this evening. We have good reason to believe it is somewhere inside Azure Chemical Works. I cannot express how important it is for your team to go examine the sarcophagus, and if possible disable it. The Industrial district is close to the walls as you would know, and the soldiers need power to stop the tide of grimm.

It may seem uncharacteristic of me to send you on one of the most dangerous missions available, but I fear no one has as much experience in this as your team. I believe you will find success. Once you have examined the situation, return back with a report and I will have a team ready to secure the sarcophagus. This is a heavy burden, I acknowledge that, but it must be done for there to be peace in Vale. I apologize that I cannot give you a simpler task. Go with god's speed, and his luck.

- Ozpin

PS: Our mutual friend Mister Welkin Fenrir will be operating in the same area. If he does not already offer you combat support, then you need just fire a flare for him to alert him. Should you choose not to accept this mission, destroy this letter and report to Professor Goodwitch.'

Ruby finished reading the letter out to them. They had retreated to a quiet corner to avoid people from over hearing them. Ruby looked at the rest of the team, and nodded resolutely. "Alright, team RWBY! We've got a job to do. We've gotta gear up for it!"

"This sounds so unnatural though. Why would Professor Ozpin send us? Sure we may have stopped one sarcophagus, but these are already active. Wouldn't it make more sense to send hunters to deal with it?" Weiss asked, looking concerned.

"I agree it seems dodgy. A full team of hunters and huntresses would be able to secure it significantly faster and with less danger than us. I do not know...if you feel we are not ready for this, then we could simply not go. He said that we could instead report to Professor Goodwitch." Blake read over the paper once more. She ran possible scenarios through her head.

"Ya' know, with things going to the hellhole right now, I think a lot of the teams are going to be tied up. Those hunters and huntresses are probably more effective at stopping the grimm from tearing into Vale." Yang mumbled. The team looked at her in disbelief. "What? I can say smart things! 'Sides, we get to go kick ass somewhere we normally wouldn't! Let's totally do it!"

"I'm with Yang on this...we got this task from Professor Ozpin. And I know it. I just know that we're going to be able to do this! We're team RWBY! And we're unstoppable!" Ruby raised her fist cheerfully.

"I'm sorry, I don't really share the sentiment...I don't think we're ready to do this." Blake stopped and looked at the group. Weiss stopped next to her as well.

"Yeah I don't know, but I actually like to live. We got lucky last time and I'd rather NOT push our luck any further. Besides, we're all tired. I don't think we're going to be too combat effective." Weiss crossed her arms. Ruby looked at Yang and sighed.

"She's got a point, we've been up all day and most of the night. We should get some rest first. I don't think anyone's that great at fighting tired."

Yang looked down and scratched the back of her head, "Yeah...alright. Let's get some sleep first and we'll move out as soon as we're awake!" Yang grinned and gave a thumbs up. "We're so kicking ass the first thing in the morning!"

The group retreated to their room for a quick nap. Blake, Ruby, and Weiss got cleaned up and changed, and each of them almost fell asleep immediately when they hit the soft bed. Yang sat on her bunk bed, toying with her phone. She had not yet changed yet.

_YXL-Blawndie!: Crasher._

_StrykerFenrir: Jawohl. I am here._

_YXL-Blawndie!: Azure Chem Works?_

_StrykerFenrir: Ja. In ten._

_YXL-Blawndie!: Biker Sharks first?_

_StrykerFenrir: Ja. Need Frauline. At Armory atm. You?_

_YXL-Blawndie!: Supposed to be sleeping. Not sleepy. I'm OMW._

_StrykerFenrir: You sure?_

Yang jumped off her bed quietly and pulled on her scarf. She adjusted her boots and picked up her biker goggles from the table. Yang turned to look at the rest of the team and muttered an apology before slipping out. It didn't take her long to sprint to the armory. She stepped in and opened her locker up to grab her gear. Ruby had helped reload and repair anything that might have gone wrong with her gauntlets. She pulled on the bracelets and turned around. She saw Welkin walk up to her with two cups of hot coffee.

"You sure 'bout what you're doing?" Welkin offered her one, which Yang took immediately and took a sip. "I would imagine you need some rest."

"You do too, but you don't plan on stopping do you?" Yang took a sip as well, watching Welkin pause for a moment.

"You're right. I don't actually plan on it. I can't sit idly by as trouble happens. My injuries can't get in the way." Welkin rubbed his tired eyes. He shouldn't be doing this. He knew he was being dumb and reckless, but as someone at his workplace had yelled once 'YOLO!' He took another sip and grabbed his gauntlets from Yang's locker, locking them into place. He holstered his pistol and grabbed the trench shotgun he had stolen from earlier. Ruby had been kind enough to load it with incendiary shotgun shells, and had a bandolier of extra shells on the sling.

"I'm with you there. My bike is over there, I'll take you to the Biker Sharks and then we can head over." Yang grabbed her keys from the locker. She felt Welkin put something heavy on her shoulders. It was his heavy coat.

"You're gonna catch a cold in the rain wearing just that. Be a little more sensible, yeah?" Welkin pet her head gently.

"Thanks. I'll just steal one of Ramirez's jackets later if I get too cold and you need this back. Let's go while the rain is still low." Yang pulled the warm coat around her tighter as they walked to the garage. Yang pulled the bike out and got on one of the packed airships, and they immediately took off to Ramirez's shop.

XxXxXxXxX

Chris ducked behind some cover as a few bullets hammered his position. He heard the ratatat of one of his men's rifles. Some cops had found them out and they began a police assault. His men were dug in and they were armed with some of the best gear liens could buy. He heard the coughing of the tri-barreled autocannon spewing hot death into the police lines. Chris checked his watch-wait, that's right. The sarcophagus killed all their dust equipment. They were to hold the line long enough for relief. Thankfully Azure Chemical Works was one of the best places to hide, as it had too much cover for anyone to assault properly.

Chris reloaded his assault rifle and tossed his empty magazine to a soldier below, who was working with a reloader and resupplying the fighters constantly. They had brought enough munitions to wage a small war, he had heard someone joke. But they were already down to half and the police were still engaging them. The autocannons had done work, but what do you expect from twenty millimeters of pure death and awesome.

He could feel something coming. He could feel the electricity in the air. He knew he wouldn't be safe long, and even if they beat off the cops (because let's face it, it's not hard to overpower sub-machine guns and shotguns with machine guns and assault weaponry,) he could feel something on the horizon. He checked his gear. He had to be ready for anything...and he had something just in case -he- showed up. Another bullet ricocheted off the cover harmlessly. He leaned out and squeezed off a burst before ducking back into cover.

Hopefully he wouldn't need it.

XxXxXxXxX

Welkin hopped off the bike. The two had weaved through an incredible amount of traffic of people evacuating the areas. He could see Ramirez standing outside his shop watching the hundreds of refugees. Welkin jogged over and waved at the Latin man.

"Crasher, milady. Isn't a bit past your bed time?" Welkin rolled his eyes and Yang grinned a bit.

"Sup tex. I need to get my bike. Emergency you know?"

"Indeed? I am not surprised. Someone turned off all the power supposedly, and it sounds like there is quite a lot of grimm and rioting going on in the other areas of the city." Ramirez led them into the darkened shop. A lot of the workers that were able to escape from the residential area were milling about in the garage with their families. He opened a door into a dark garage.

Welkin and Yang followed him in and Ramirez flipped on the power. The large fluorescent lights above banged on over head and filled the room with light. Ramirez patted the cleaned up Frauline. "Good sir, I took the liberty of cleaning up the bike and doing general maintenance. You've been using it too much, but I do not think I need to tell you so."

Welkin smiled gleefully and examined the cleaned up bike. Ramirez had managed to clean up all the dirt and grime from his time in Alistier. He had also managed to clean out the Merlina Mk2 engine and changed all the oil. The machine was ready to go, and thankfully the commercial area was not affected by the sarcophagi.

Welkin took the man's hand and pulled him into a tight hug, "Thanks man. I really owe you."

"Anything for a brother my friend. You just owe me a drink for when this is over."

"For you? Kegs!" The two shared a laugh as Ramirez handed him the keys. "Good luck, my lady, Welkin." He opened the garage door for the two of them. Yang went and wheeled her bike over to the entrance of the hanger. Welkin tapped in the instructions onto his datapad from one of his pouches. He gave the information to Yang to input into her navigational software as well.

"Alrighty...Yang? Shall we?" Welkin kicked on the ignition and revved the bike. The Bumblebee roared to life right after the Frauline and Yang smirked. She passed him back his coat, as she had 'borrowed' a leather jacket from Ramirez.

"Last one there's gonna buy the celebratory cake!" Yang blew off and swerved out of the garage. Welkin saluted slightly to Ramirez before blowing out after her. The two weaved through the crowds expertly as they made their way through the city. They could see the residential district coming up, and it was darker than night past there. They had to cut through it quickly, as a shortcut to the industrial sector.

XxXxXxXxX

Notes:

And that's that! Chapter 2: Devil's Four is now complete. For the next part, expect an interlude (maybe two, if I find out that my interludes are kinda long.) Feel free to leave comments and whatnot, maybe even questions. Thanks again for reading and/or following me for so long. Also, I hope they don't use my avatar as a picture for my story, its not even closely related...lemme know if that's the case and I'm going to purge it immediately. I'd rather not steal artwork to use.

END: Chapter 2: Devil's Four

NEXT: Chapter 3: The End of an Era

_Encyclopedia:_

_Exodus. An relatively unknown group, and by unknown we mean we have no information on personnel size, equipment, and funding. Rumors have it that the original Exodus group was a political organization that was aimed at advancing a liberal cause. Supposedly called the People's Party before, they were originally classified as freedom fighters that were willing to do anything to end oppression. It is still under debate as to how much their work affected the current political situation. Exodus disappeared several years ago, or rather went quiet when the leadership fell apart. Rumors have it they are organizing things in the background, setting things up to make themselves look like heroes. Others have stated they've become more interested in the applications of dust and mythic objects. One such objects that the Bureau of Intelligence has decided to release information on includes the Faustus' Box, a black sarcophagus that is powered by dust, to sap dust in a large area. Their work is mysterious and often morally questionable. Their motto, which the Bureau claims they have kept since the old days, is _Exitus Acta Probat_ or the Ends justify the Means._

_**Bureau of Intelligence:** The Bureau has declared this group a terrorist organization that is highly dangerous and detrimental to society. The Bureau requests people limit contact with members of this organization, and anyone with information on their activities should report it immediately to the police. They have been known to house extremely violent personalities, and their goals of "freeing the world" should be held in question because of this. They care not for civilians, as seen in several older terrorists cases like the Sevenside Bombing._

_WARNING: PEOPLE ASSOCIATING WITH EXODUS WILL BE INVESTIGATED, AND IF NEED BE PROSECUTED BY COURT OF LAW. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED._


	14. Interlude: Now and Then

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY and all that jazz. I would like to claim ownership of original ideas.

Intro Notes: Here we go! The first interlude that will separate Chapter Two and Three! Just stuff to develop characters a bit and give some context to some events. There will indeed be a second interlude (because I'm swamped with final papers and I can only really hammer out side stories for now,) so look forward to that! If you don't feel like reading through all of it, you can use search and find the title of what interests you! Now without further ado, please enjoy! Alas, I think I should warn readers, this chapter IS rather long...I did not expect these side stories to spiral out of control. I can't really say how much I appreciate people going through it.

XxXxXxXxXxX

**Interlude: Now and Then**

_The following stories occurred during or after parts five - eight, or during Chapter Two: Devil's Four. These are a collection of mini-events, meetings, and general conversations that happened behind the scenes. There may not be a specific point at which they occur, but there may be mentions as to what happened before or after. Some of these stories may even well tell the past._

XxXxXxXxXxX

_Story List: _First Impressions Are Always the Most Important!, Eine Strahlende Sonne und dem Drohnenden Blitz, Fires of Phosphuro

XxXxXxXxXxX

First Impressions Are Always the Most Important!

_Yang was running as fast as she humanly could, blowing through the halls while munching on some buttered toast. She jumped over a bench and slid over a smooth table as she blew through the corridors. She was running late, and boy oh boy was Qrow going to chew her ear out. She could see her class coming up past the intersection and sprinted even harder. Then she rammed into someone. The two tangled into each other from the collision and bounced off the wall._

_"Ow ow...watch it!" Yang yelled._

_"Watch yourself! Damnit, I'm going to be late..."_

_"Yeah? Not as late as I am! Get off me!"_

_"You get off me!" The two bickered while untangling themselves. Then Yang felt a hand on her chest. She immediately upper cutted the teen and sent him into the air. She flipped up and followed up by slamming her fist into his chest, sending him flying down the crowded hall. The teen crashed through all sorts of junk littered in the way, knocking over tables, chairs, file cabinets, and whatnot. She grinned and flexed her arm, happy with being able to punch something despite not having combat training today. She was about to go her way when she saw the teen get up, with a certain fury in his eyes. How the hell did he not get knocked out from that?_

_"Training room two after the last classes. We settle this!" He challenged. Yang perked an eyebrow, did he really just? Oh no he didn't!_

_"You're on!" She yelled back and continued running. She burst into the class room right as the bell rang. Welp, Qrow was going to be-_

_"You're late. Have a seat Yang." Yang sighed and slumped into the closest empty seat, next to her groupies of course._

XxXxXxXxXxX

_Yang and her groupies walked to training room two. She was itching for a fight. The thought of a challenger so early in the school year excited her, and blocked out the rest of what she should have learned that day. She looked around after swinging the double doors open, four guys. The one she punched, now that she got a good look, was a tad larger than she expected. He was sitting on a bench, with one leg crossed over the other and an irritated look on his face. He was wearing a pair of faded black jeans and a red shirt, with a red plaid shirt on top. He looked kind of like a lumberjack really._

_Yang eyed the other three as the group found seats on benches around the training room. The closer one to the lumberjack wore a camo jacket with jeans and a t-shirt. He looked more tired and sleepy than menacing. Off to the side were two other guys, one wearing blue jeans and a white shirt with glasses, and the other also with the same outfit except with a grey sweater on top. She could recognize those two any day: Michael Stahl and Sunny Delian. They were arguably some of the smartest students at Signal, though they were also known for causing mayhem with said knowledge._

_"Sup blondie. Ring's all set up, as you can see. All we need now are weapons." The lumberjack got up and pulled himself onto the fighter's ring. The ring was arranged like a wrestling arena, to prevent people from falling off and onto the cold wooden floor._

_"I got mine right here Crasher." She jumped onto the ring and shifted her stance. She pulled on a pair of practice cestuses. 'Crasher' laughed._

_"Seriously, you too? Alright then. Also, pleased to meet you. Welkin Fenrir." Welkin pulled on a pair of practice cestuses as well. Yang grinned and thought 'Well, now it's going to get interesting.'_

_"Yeah? I think Crasher suits you more. I'm Yang. Yang Xiao Long." She raised her fists and got into a loose boxing stance. Welkin raised his and entered a similar boxing stance, albeit more grounded._

_"Crasher huh? Alright little miss dragon, let's see what you can do. I owe you for that damned punch earlier!" Welkin stomped one foot down._

_"Alright you two. I want clean fightin'! That means fighting as dirty as you possibly can!" Sunny cheered and held up a bell._

_"Yeah! Also, try and not get blood everywhere. It's a pain to clean! Best of five! GO!" Michael laughed as Sunny rang the combat bell._

_Yang immediately charged, and realized that Welkin had exactly the same idea. She could probably knock him out in one punch. Just one to the head. She was about to swing when she noticed something that most charging brawlers didn't do. He skidded to a stop. Yang feinted her punch and tried to roundhouse kick Welkin instead._

_Welkin raised his right arm and blocked the heavy kick, standing his ground. He immediately tried to left hook her while she was exposed. Yang rolled away and moved in from below, attempting to upper cut him. Welkin stepped back and avoided the punch, and tackled into her stomach hard. The force of him throwing his weight into the tackle knocked the wind right out of her and sent her away to the side of the arena. She could see him smirk and raise his fists again._

_"Man, and I thought I would just call you crasher for crashing into so many things. You actually -do- crash into people on purpose!" Yang leapt and attempted to axe kick him from above. Welkin deflected her leg and knocked her off balance, causing her to land on her ass. He immediately tried to stomp on her. "You also don't move very much do you?" Yang rolled away and back onto her feet, staring down her opponent._

_"Don't need to, not if you're coming to me. But if the lady would like, I can oblige." Welkin immediately charged. Yang could see the amount of weight he moved with each stride, despite him not looking more heavy than the average teen football player. Welkin cocked a fist to strike, but Yang simply jumped on his arm and used him as a spring board to get behind him. She immediately drove her elbow into his back, sending the heavier man forward. Unfortunately for her, that sent him onto the elastic rope._

_Welkin rebounded off the thing and stormed at her with the ropes momentum, actually managing to clothesline her before she could react. She rolled back up. This was going to be interesting indeed..._

XxXxXxXxXxX

_The two had gone at it for four rounds now. It was two for two, unfortunately. What Yang thought was going to be an easy shut out turned into one of the hardest brawls in her life. After the second round they had discarded their jackets. Welkin rolled up his sleeves. The small crowd that had come to watch the 'Battle of the Century, between the Blonde Dragon and the Red Wolf!' (as Sunny and Michael had decided to call it.) There were several side bets going on, as quite a few people knew of Yang's reputation as a fierce fighter...and Welkin being an equally tenacious bastard._

_They had literally used every brawler trick in the world, and she discovered quite a few things about the way Welkin fought. Namely, he was really grounded. He didn't jump or run when he didn't need to, and he always kept an eye on her. Also, it didn't help that he was a lot more durable than she thought. He had literally taken at least thrice as many blows as she did, but here he was still standing tall and defiant. It was their last round. She had gone in expecting him to actually be all talk (or shouting in his case), but she was pleasantly surprised by how decent of a fighter hew as. Her thoughts were interrupted when Welkin got back into melee range and engaged. Although his punches were fairly slow for a brawler, they carried a lot more weight than normal. She avoided where she could and parried any she couldn't, waiting for him to rear up for what she called 'the big one.' He had gotten her once with it, the first time he won, and it had seriously hurt. Each blow that she parried caused her to stagger slightly._

_'There!' Yang though and prepared to slip around him after he over-reached himself. But she was not expected the swift elbow and then right hook to her stomach when she passed. She reeled back in surprise as Welkin landed a few hard punches in. "Ack, cheap shot!" She shifted and adjusted her position. She was beginning to feel the fatigue set in, and Welkin didn't look like he had any brakes._

_He let out a breath and stretched slightly, "Seemed fair enough at the time, all things considering." He smirked and charged._

_"Oh so that's how you wanna go huh?! Alright then punk!" Yang charged at the man and prepared to throw as much force into the shot as possible. Welkin reared up and attempted to punch her out as well. The two connected and...they both flopped onto the arena. The somewhat large crowd that had turned out to watch murmured, their bets potentially ruined. Welkin and Yang laid out on the arena, passed out._

_"WINNER!...well, no one really, they both lost." Sunny announced. "Well this is awkward isn't it?"_

_"Indeed it is my friend! Unfortunately ladies and gentlemen, it seems as though we have a tie!" The crowd went up in a fury at this, as the two and Yang's groupies hauled their friends to the infirmary._

XxXxXxXxXxX

_Yang sat up from the bed. She had a horrible headache pounding. Not exactly how she wanted to start the day. Was it even day? She looked out the window and at the clock that read seven o'clock. Nope, evening. She rolled over a bit hugging the bandages. Oh right the brawl. That bastard was tough. She wasn't expecting to get laid out by him, even with those overpowered punches._

_"Ugh...my head is killing me. My spleen too." She heard as Welkin also slid up. He looked a lot more groggy than her._

_"Yeah? You too? Good, ya' bastard." Yang muttered and looked around. They were in the school infirmary. Oh man, uncle Qrow was going to chew her out..._

_Welkin groaned some more and slung his legs off the bed. He stood up and nursed the ample bandages on him. She could see him glowing just a bit, his aura possibly? "Man I'm hungry..."_

_"We're in the infirmary and you're thinkin about food? Can't stomach gettin' beat by a girl?" Yang joked. Welkin groaned even louder at that._

_"I'm sorry, I'm not quite in the mood for jokes. When I suffered that groin injury I became quite testy..." Yang snorted just a bit. "Ah, there goes my mouth. Sorry about that. Are you alright?" He stretched rather painfully. She could hear some joints pop and creak._

_"That was bad. You know, you're pretty good. Too many blind spots to exploit though."_

_"Yeah? I know I've got a ton of blind spots, I don't see 'em though." Welkin joked again and walked over to the night stand in between their beds. He shuffled through a stack of angry notes. "Looks like my 'fans' won't be pleased with me. It seems someone lost sixty lien on a bet and he's out for blood."_

_Yang shifted through some of the get well cards on her side. They were noticeably more neat and prettier than his. Less death threats and more get well notes also. "That sucks...to be them." Yang tossed the stack of papers back onto the night stand, grinning._

_"Yeah well, not my problem. Yang right?" Welkin looked at her. He offered a handshake. "Thanks for the brawl."_

_"It ain't over till one of us wins." Yang smirked confidently and shook his hand. He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled softly._

_"Weellll, we'll see about that." He gathered up his gear and prepared to go back to the dorms. "I should get back, got some homework to do. It's...it was good meeting you."_

_"Yeah, sure. I'll see you around Crasher." Welkin stopped as he was about to open the door. He turned around and raised an eyebrow at the blonde._

_"Well, that's a new nickname. What are you? Gold?"_

_"Well I've been called a rare commodity. I wonder if I'm Gold or Silver. I guess I could be either 'ore.' Get it?" She grinned. Welkin rolled his eyes and laughed._

_"Oh my god. That was bad. Well then Goldie-locks, I'll see you around. Don't forget, you owe me a rematch!"_

_"Count on it Crasher!" Yang grabbed her gear and thought for a moment. He didn't look half bad. Maybe she would see him around. Just then Uncle Qrow and little Ruby came bursting into the room. And boy oh boy did he look pissed..._

XxXxXxXxXxX

_A few days later..._

Welkin sidestepped and leaned back when Yang took a hard left jab at him. He threw a right hook to try and nail her in the side. She blocked it with her forearm and weaved in closer and head butted Welkin, causing him to stumble back. He could hear the crowd go ooooh and murmur, the bets on their final match being changed rapidly. Yang followed up and tackled him, trying to throw him down, but his weight prevented that. Welkin counter grappled and lifted her over him and tried to drop her on her head. Unfortunately, that didn't work as planned as she landed on her feet, albeit bent backwards and tangled with him. She elbowed his side and forced him to let go, causing him to land on his back. She flipped herself back up and smirked.

Welkin stood back up straight and adjusted his fighting stance. "You know we're both too durable for this."He flexed his hand slightly and shook it out.

"Yep! But we're doing this for charity!" Yang leapt and tried to axe kick him from above. Welkin blocked the kick and grabbed her leg, throwing her onto the ground with a heavy thud. She spun like a dancer back onto her feet, only to have Welkin slam hard into her. She felt his arms wrap around her waist, and felt herself get slammed downwards. She grunted and immediately reacted by upper cutting him off her. He tripped and fell onto his back, and Yang immediately straddled him. "Check mate!"

Welkin raised his arms to block but Yang just put the beat down on him. She managed to break through his guard and lay on him enough to hurt. She rose her fist for one more hit before Welkin yelled, "YIELD!" Yang leapt off of him and raised her arms in victory. The crowd jumped onto their feet and chanted her name. The referee rang a bell as Yang jumped up and down, gleeful. She bent over and helped Welkin up onto his feet. She shook his hand as Welkin patted her shoulder. "Good fight."

"I guess I'm the better one now ain't I?" The crowd cheered some more as Welkin nodded and conceded. "And you owe me lunch!" Welkin nodded yet again and they left to clean up. The crowds dispersed as well, returning to go do their own thing.

"Next time, I'm gonna win for sure blondie!" Welkin called out when Yang stepped out of the women's locker room. She looked across to way at Welkin, who was talking to Chris.

"Next time there won't be a match! Cause I'd floor you too hard!" She called back. Welkin waved at her and turned away with Chris, heading back to their dorms. Yang was picked up by her groupies and immediately carted off to have a celebratory dinner. She would have to take the time to get to know him, he was something else entirely after all.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Eine Strahlende Sonne und dem Drohnenden Blitz

It was raining. No! It was storming. The gods had a cruel sense of humor. Sure, it was a weeklong break, but this was an all time low for a break week! First she gets asked out by someone she's not interested in, then she's pressured in accepting, then she's pressured into wearing something sexy for the date. Then? Then the stupid bastard has the BALLS to blow her off?! Nope! Ugh, Yang was not having a great night. It was bloody cold, it was storming, and she was sitting here at the bus stop in the commercial district waiting for a bus that would take an hour to get there. She was pissed, to say the least as well.

"Heeeey sexy! How's it going?" Oh she didn't need this. "Lookin lonely babe, how 'bout me n my boys show you a nice time eh?" He reeked of cheap body spray and BO.

"Not interested." Yang said immediately.

"Aww com'on babe, you'd be totally into it!" He put a hand on her shoulder. She brushed it off her.

"Not interested, now get lost before I get mad."

"Baby, no need for that! We're just inviting you to a nice night. Money won't be a problem eithe-" The guys voice was drowned out by the sound of a motorcycle. "I'm sure you can make up for it to-"

"Hey jackass, she said she ain't interested." Yang's ears perked up at the sound of a familiar voice. She looked up and couldn't recognize the sharp dressed man.

"Look man, we's just askin her nicely! Offerin a nice gurl a good night!" He draped an arm around Yang. Yang immediately got up, with him still attached, and flipped him onto the floor. The man landed with a thud into the wet pavement. One of the guys called out and they pulled out shivs of some kind. Right then the man in the black formal looking coat punched out two of them, knocking them out cold. The last one dropped his shiv, yelled something along the lines of NOT DOING THAT! and ran for it, leaving Yang with the young man.

"Hm...Yang. You look incredible." The young man studied her. She was wearing a sleeveless sun yellow shirt with her emblem on the bottom left, a black skirt over black shorts, thigh highs and boots. Yang also kept her bright yellow scarf, but was definitely under dressed for the weather they're currently in. "That being said, you must be cold."

"Hey! I wasn't expecting a storm to roll in! It was nice and sunny when I left!" Yang growled at the man. She couldn't put a finger on who it was, but he was very familiar. She studied him closely since he joined her under the bus stop cover. He was fairly formally dressed: black slacks, dress shoes, a dress shirt and vest, and a heavy long coat for the rain. It looked incredibly warm. She looked a little closer at his face, "Wait a minute, CRASHER?! What the heck?! What did you DO to yourself?!" The teen nodded and rain his gloved hand through his wet hair.

Welkin laughed aloud. "I could ask you the very same little dragon. Before that. Take this, quickly." Welkin pulled off his warm coat and handed it to Yang, who accepted it quickly. She pulled on the warm oversized coat and pulled it tight against her.

"Thanks, man you're already making my night better." She muttered in annoyance.

"What are you doin' out here so late?"

"WELL! Long story short! I'm going to beat the crap out of that stupid guy who decided to ask me out on a date and then blow me off!" Yang gave Crasher her standard beyond pissed face. Welkin sighed, knowing exactly who she was talking about.

"That jackass is going to get his spinal cord removed one day. But I can say I know how you feel." He leaned against the side as Yang took back a seat. "I finally say yes to this dumb broad and now she's laughing over it with her friends because it's some cosmic joke to them. Needless to say, I'm happy I was able to punch out two jerks."

"Ouch, that sucks. Who would blow you off man?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

"Again, I could ask you the very same thing." Welkin smiled wryly and fixed his vest. The two stood next to each other in silence for a moment, not really sure what to say. Then suddenly Welkin felt a eureka moment hit him, "Say, we're both out, we're both dressed up all fancy, and I've got my bike, why the hell don't we go do something to spite those assholes who wanted to make us miserable?"

Yang got up immediately, "And here I thought you weren't going to ask. Let's go, the damned bus isn't going to get here for ages anyway." She pulled part of the coat over her head to get some cover. Welkin jogged over and dragged the bike through the rain so Yang could get on in a drier area. He ignored the passed out gangbangers on the floor. The two immediately climbed on and Welkin revved the engine of his Velka bike.

"Where to milady?"

"How about the shopping center? It's still open right?"

"Yep, most stores open till ten-ish. It's about seven now."

"Well, let's go hang out there for a few hours! Get our mind off being totally gypped by our dates." Welkin nodded and pulled on his goggles and offered her a pair. The two roared off down the road to the shopping center.

XxXxXxXxXxX

The two sat at the food court, enjoying a hot meal of burgers and fries (animal style, with grilled onions and peppers.) They had spent the last two hours messing around in the stores. Welkin was sipping on his root beer float when Yang asked, "So I didn't know you had such good taste in clothes." They had gone clothes shopping and browsing in general. Welkin bought a few new t-shirts and a pair of gloves. He also helped her (whether by his own will or not) pick out a few cute dresses. The two also checked out a weapon shop and bought some after-market parts to tinker with (since they couldn't legally buy weapons yet.) The scene was fairly similar as they wandered about: Yang talking loudly and being cheerful while Welkin tagged along, almost just as loud as her. Some onlookers joked that they saw the shining sun walking next to some very loud thunder. "And a sense of humor. Seriously? People like grapes?"

"It was a good shirt. Soft too." Welkin shrugged. He smirked afterwards, "Sides, I needed a few more funny shirts instead of just wearing red all the time."

"Yeah, and with that purple shirt you bought a red one to compensate! I swear your closet is half red!"

"It actually is, believe it or not. Well, actually its probably three-fourths red. Chris says he can't see anything because it's so freaking red."

"I'll bet. Also, here, I got you something. You know, for making tonight so much better."

"Oh no, that's not necessary. Com'on, it's what friends are for! And it's fun to hang out with you." Yang placed a box on the table and slid it over.

"Nope! Not taking no for an answer! Check it out! You'll like it!" Welkin relented and opened up the box. His jaw dropped immediately.

"Oh no, no way. Is this...it is! It's from Toussoud's workshop! How on earth...?" Welkin pulled out the blood red scarf. It was brand new and made of silk, but woven thickly as if it was cotton. The scarf was smooth and soft, yet warm and sturdy. The scarf was fairly long, even for someone as tall of Welkin. A lightning bolt streaked down the middle of the scarf, reaching from one long end to the other. At the very end of one was a flame. "Where...how much was this? I can't just take such an expensive gift without repayment!"

"Don't worry about it! I overheard you talking to Chris about wanting a scarf. You guys were talking brands and you were going off saying Toussoud makes the best scarves. When you were off looking at headphones I went off and bought something that looked like it would fit you!"

"Oh com'on Yang, let me repay you for this. It's not cheap and we're still students you know." Yang shook her head.

"Take the gift Welkin."

"But..."

"Take it!" Yang took a bite from a fry, not giving him an option. Welkin smiled softly and nodded. He put it carefully back into the box to wear later.

"I...thanks. Thank you so much."

"Sure! Now...you can get me home right? I'm supposed to be home in like ten minutes."

"...what." Welkin was only able to say and looked at his watch. The two furiously chowed down the rest of their meal and made a break for the parking garage.

XxXxXxXxXxX

The rain had stopped and the moon had finally come out. Welkin parked in front of the house where Yang was staying. They had managed to blitz through traffic incredibly fast, despite the bike being old. Sure they also took a few shortcuts that may have been classified as dangerous (and by dangerous we mean more dangerous than ramping off a tow truck to get over traffic. That was cool too).

"Oooh I hope Uncle Qrow won't be too mad..."

"Nah you'll be fine. If he was I think he would have come found you himself. At least, if the rumors surrounding your uncle is true. I'd rather not find out." Welkin climbed off the bike after Yang. They walked over to the front gate slowly.

"So...thanks again. Thanks for not making this night a waste!" Yang smiled gleefully.

"Sure as sure!" Yang pulled Welkin into a tight hug, who pat her back. "Hey, need anything let me know okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks. Hey what about your coat?" Yang looked down at the heavy jacket.

"Eeeeh don't worry about it. I'll get it some other time. You get on going, I think I see your uncle glaring at me." Yang waved and crossed the front yard to open the front door. Welkin got on his bike and revved it back on. "Hey! Next time we should check out the Armamax Arena! I heard the combat simulator was pretty top notch." Yang nodded and they waved to each other before going their separate ways.

After Qrow chewed her out for being out so late, she retired to her room. She bumped into Ruby along the way.

"Yang? Why were you out so late?" Ruby tilted her head, looking at the older blonde bombshell curiously.

"Huh? Oh, just having fun you know! Was hanging out with a friend!"

"You went on a date?!" Ruby hissed, making sure Qrow didn't hear them. They both knew that Qrow didn't want either of them (read: Yang) distracted by romance (or hormones, whichever came first.)

"Ah it's fine. We really were hanging out. I was in the area and Crasher got blown off by his date. We were bored just standing around so we went to chill out at the mall! We also kinda lost track of time. Oh yeah Ruby, check these out!" Yang pulled a brand new set of headphones with red roses on them. "Pretty cool right?!"

"Ooooh! They do look cool! Where did you...?"

"Custom made on order! If those ever break lemme know and I can get you a new pair!" Yang went off to clean up for the night.

"Thanks Yang! Good night! I won't tell uncle about what you told me!" She could hear Yang laugh in the background and say something along the lines of nailed it.

The next morning Ruby had heard rumors that some playboy punk at Signal got his ass beat in by a really angry red head, and that one of the preppy popular girls got beat down by blonde bombshell. She wasn't entirely sure what to think about that...except that these new headphones ROCKED!

XxXxXxXxXxX

_Present Day..._

Yang tossed some old clothes aside. She had finally decided to clean out her closet-their closet, that is- and was in the process of putting old clothes away. She shifted through the many, many, clothes that were stacked in the closet. She could see copies of Blake's outfit on the side, but her clothes truly dwarfed the modest pile. Yang made a commitment to take Blake clothes shopping when they were free one day. After all, a pretty girl needs pretty things to wear right? Yang continued clearing out clothes, tossing old things haphazardly aside. Then she ran into something. It was clearly an old jacket, but it was quite clean. She pulled it out with the hanger and looked at it; it was a black formal rain jacket, with several pairs of buttons lining down the center. It was quite thick, but the material was rather comfortable. She thought for a moment, she had not bought a jacket like this. The size was too large and the brand wasn't the one she would buy from...unless. Yang smirked, he never came and got it. In truth, she didn't realize she had brought it...unless Uncle Qrow packed it for her. She sighed at the memory of the night. The two had never discussed whether or not what they did counted as a date or not, they didn't care. Some rumors drifted about saying that it was, but that was different.

"That's quite a nice jacket there." Yang turned as Blake spoke up. She nodded at her, "Looks a bit masculine though."

'Hmm? Nah I think it's fine. I could make this work. Hmm...how about this...this and this..." Yang pulled out a pair of formal slacks, a silk red shirt that put an emphasis on her...blessed body, and a black vest. "There! Now I have a formal suit! I just need some heels or boots to go with it and it'll look stunning!"

"Heh, perhaps so. Though the size might be a bit off. You should get it tailored." Blake looked at the mess of clothing on the floor and bed. Her bed, to be precise. "Need a hand cleaning?"

"Nah I think I've got it under control. Next time we're free I think I'll take these to a shelter and donate them or something. I'll probably keep the jacket though."

"Then perhaps when we do so we can get the jacket tailored and...and we can go clothes shopping." Blake didn't look entirely pleased with the idea.

"Really?! You'd come with me to do that?! That'd be great!" Yang half-cheered, smiling brightly at her partner.

"Yes, maybe it won't be as bad as I imagine it. And as you said to me before, my clothing options currently is...rather anemic."

"Great! Next time we head out then! We'll have a blast!" Yang smirked and continued cleaning out her clothes. Blake helped her organize things into boxes to be taken out. Considering the taste in clothing of the blonde bombshell, she would be surprised if she was able to find something for her...but then again she might be wrong. After all, she did have quite a nice formal coat in her collection despite all things.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Fires of Phosphero

Weiss groaned as she pulled on the apron, how did it come to this? How did someone like her end up on kitchen duty with the rest of her team? It's not like she ever did anything wrong, not especially in the cafeteria (she wanted to have a place to eat after all.) She fixed the apron and tied it on, thinking some more.

Of course. It must have been their combined actions. Ruby had a penchant for stealing sweets when they weren't looking (at least she assumes she's been stealing them,) and Yang is a troublemaker. She wasn't there when they got the punishment from Professor Goodwitch, no she was studying. It was only when Blake found her maybe ten minutes before that she found out they had to make lunch. Weiss looked around, Ruby and Yang were looking at a menu to decide what to prepare for the masses. Blake was washing her hands at a large industrial sized sink on the side. The kitchen was massive, and to think this was only ONE of them. They were working in the kitchen called "Phosphero" (and she had no idea why they even HAD names.) It had essentially all the appliances they would need, and then some. Most of these she had never seen before.

"Hmm...okay...sooo what do you think will be good for Lunch?" Yang asked the team. She pulled on and fixed an apron too. It was then Weiss noticed they were in color coded aprons. Again, how in the heck?

"I believe yesterday we had something with rice...so today we should perhaps have some stew and bread." Blake muttered, thinking back to yesterday's meal.

"That's a good idea, what kind of stew though?" Ruby asked, flipping through the massive cookbook.

"I saw the recipe for some spicy beef stew, how about that? If that doesn't fit their palette we can also prepare something on the milder side. Something without Habenaro peppers. We can probably serve that along with some buns to make it down right delicious!"

"Yes...that would do. it would certainly satisfy the carnivores if we did that. We could offer the alternative of clam chowder as well. We certainly have the time to prepare them both." Blake nodded.

"You know I just realized, aren't they supposed to coordinate between kitchens to figure out what to cook? I don't think we could just have a random assortment of dishes for peop-" Weiss stopped when Blake pointed to a schedule on the wall. Weiss read it, "Tuesday, chicken katsu with rice and salad...Wednesday, free cooking. What does that mean?"

"It means that each kitchen does their own thing. It gives chefs a timeslot to practice or experiment with new recipes." Ruby recited as if from memory.

"Where did you learn that?"

"It was on the slip of paper Professor Goodwitch gave to me. Also, Wednesday always has the most random menu. Remember that...sashimi ice cream?" Ruby muttered, embarrassed. Yang laughed and wrapped an arm around Ruby's neck. Blake shuddered at the memory of that disgusting raw salmon ice cream concoction...

"You knucklehead, told you that you were going to get caught one day. And oh man, by the worst person to get caught by."

"Hey! I wasn't expecting it! And I think they finally changed the lock so the old method Blake showed me didn't work anymore." Weiss stared at Blake, who whistled and looked away, too busy examining the environment to 'know' what she was talking about.

"Well, no sense in sitting around for so long. Let's get started. Ugh, I hate this." Weiss grumbled as she went to look for a pot.

"Sooo...I call baking the loaves!" Yang ran off to the pantry to grab what she needed. Blake shrugged and followed after her to help her carry everything. Weiss and Ruby looked at each other.

"So...YOU got us into this mess?" Weiss glared at Ruby as they went about preparing what they needed.

"It was an accident! I just wanted another packet of cookies!" Ruby cowered as Weiss shook a massive ladle at her in fury. "Besides..it's fun! You know, cooking! We'll be okay! Unless you've never cooked before..."

"What? Are you assuming I've never cooked before?"

"Well no, but I mean lik-" Ruby was about to continue as she started preparing veggies for both stews. Professor Goodwitch explicitly stated no weapons allowed, so even if she wanted to show off by chopping things up with her scythe really quickly she couldn't.

"Just shut up and cut the stupid vegetables." Weiss growled and grabbed a cutting board to help. Yang and Blake returned not long later, pushing a cart laden with everything they'd need.

"Okay! So Ruby, can you work on the meat? Blake can take over there while I do the buns." Ruby nodded and took the packets of beef to another work station. She began slicing beef into more manageable chunks. Blake took over chopping vegetables. She rolled out a few peppers that they would need. However, something else caught her attention: Weiss haphazardly mauling vegetables. She walked over and pulled Weiss away for a moment.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. My feelings aren't the problem." Weiss sighed.

"You can't cook, can you?"

"Look, I never needed to! I don't see why that changes now." Weiss crossed her arms.

"Well, we're going to all need to know how to eventually. I can help you out, so you don't hurt yourself." Weiss considered the offer from Blake carefully. She wasn't just messing with her was she?

"That would be nice." Weiss muttered. Blake nodded and returned to the counters.

"You don't need to know much, just watch how I do it. You should be able to pick up on it." Blake picked up the kitchen knife and started chopping up vegetables. Weiss followed along slowly, picking up the techniques as she goes along. She looked up occasionally to see how the others were doing. Ruby was mixing up the broth and preparing both stews in massive pots. She could see Yang beating the crap out of a large blob of dough. She stifled a laugh as the blonde bombshell was covered in white flour. She couldn't help but smile at how Yang was kneading the bread, and on that note to call it kneading was stretching it. It looked like she was beating the dough into submission. A part of her wondered if it would even end up good despite how rough she was treating the dough.

Weiss grabbed the next green vegetable and immediately cut into it. And she immediately regretted it. The juice from the pepper sprayed into her eyes, "OW! My eyes! What the heck is this!?"

"Oh no, that's a habenaro pepper! Wait don't touch your e-" Weiss tried to rub her eyes. And screamed even louder.

"WHY?! IT BURNS SO MUCH!" Weiss cried from the spicy pepper being in her eyes. Blake hurried over and led Weiss over to a sink. Ruby looked over at the heiress who had lost her composure. The screaming caused her to raise an eyebrow. Ruby was going to intervene and help out, but decided that Blake could handle it and more people would just clutter the space. Yang simply grinned, amused, but couldn't help because she was too dirty.

"Quick, rinse your eyes out. It'll help!" Blake ran some cold water and helped Weiss clean out her eyes.

"Who the hell thought it was a good idea to put such spicy peppers into the mix?! What the heck is this?!" Weiss cried as she rinsed her eyes out quickly.

"It's called spicy beef stew for a reason...sorry about that. I should have warned you. I actually forgot we had habeneros mixed into the vegetables to chop up." Blake handed her a paper towel to dry her face off. After a little bit of recovery, Weiss went back to work, this time avoiding the peppers in general. Her eyes were incredibly red.

"Aww, couldn't take the heat of a few peppers?" Yang joked as she walked by, carrying a bowl with raising bread. There were several of such bowls arranged.

"Just shut up." Weiss growled. Yang giggled and went back to work. "What are you working on?" Weiss looked at the piles of stuff near the bowls.

"Hmm? You'll see! My own specialty!" Yang started mixing up some stuff in a large bowl. She was stirring up something in a pot.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself." Blake looked over at the mishmash of ingredients that look almost haphazardly thrown together.

Yang smirked and stirred the mixture together, "I actually am! I love cooking! Me n Ruby used to do it all the time, so we just decided to just use it as time to practice and enjoy each other's company!" Yang began sharing stories about their kitchen adventures from the past, much to Ruby's dismay.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Much later, the group stared at all the completed food. They stared in triumph and breathed in the delightful smell. The air was thick with the scent of spicy delight, and the huge stack of perfect golden buns on a tray next to it.

"Alright! Team RWBY! Mission accomplished!" Ruby cheered, "And not a moment too soon! Lunch is in ten minutes!"

"Ugh, that was tiring though. And don't get me started on those peppers again!" Weiss said, crossing her arms.

"Well...why don't we try some of our handiwork out?" Yang suggested. They grabbed some bowls and poured some stew for each of them, and got a bun to go with it all. They each took a bite. Weiss stuck her tongue out and scrunched her face in pain.

"Too spicy."

Yang and Ruby shrugged, "I dunno, I think it's pretty good! Maybe you've just got a cats tongue." Yang looked at Blake, who was eating clam chowder instead, "No offense." Blake simply shrugged.

"It's alright. This does taste good though. And...I really can't wait to try out these buns." Blake smiled and put the bowl down. She took the warm bun and split it, looking at the delicious filling. "It does look quite appetizing." The other two, outside of Yang, could feel their mouths begin to water at the sight of such perfect buns.

"Yeah? Thanks! My specialty!" Yang beamed at her team mate, who took a bite into the soft bread. Blake couldn't speak. She was completely amazed by the taste. The others blinked a few times, was it that good to make the quietest person on the team even MORE quiet?!

"She's got to be exaggerating. Let me try one..." Weiss picked up a bun and took a bite into it. Her eyes widened in surprise. She couldn't speak either, what sorcery was this?! She could only eat more. And more. She tore into the delicious bun. Ruby looked and took one too. Ruby chomped down on it, and it was delicious. It wasn't sweet, but that's okay, maybe next time she could ask Yang to make those delicious sweet rolls.

"Okay. I'll give you that much credit. You're...an amazing baker!" Weiss complimented as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. She had devoured the bun a lot quicker than expected.

"Thanks! I like baking, it's quite good for stress relief. Also, nothing tastes better than a hot loaf of bread fresh out of the oven!" Yang smirked, "Now let's help get this stuff out into the dining hall." She went over to assist some of the workers that were carting out the food. Yang knew what it was to be modest...but damnit her bread kicked ass and she knew it. After helping out, Yang would later be told that the chef's demanded her recipe.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Notes:

Well that's it for this interlude! There's going to be more to come. Man, these interludes got long...even for something meant to be light hearted and secondary to the main plot.

Also, a translation of the second story's title is actually inside the story itself. It roughly translates to the Shining Sun and Loud Lightning. And yes, that's where Welkin got his scarf from.

I'd like to thank SanguisAnima for letting me borrow the idea of Yang being an awesome baker. I apologize that I probably don't do it as much justice as you have because I focused on the group cooking instead of just her. If there's a story from here that I can definitely recommend, it's The Hidden Gastronome Chronicles. Give it a check out, it's sweet!

Thanks again for checking this out and keeping with it for so long. I know that each part just seems to get longer and longer, and I apologize for that. My brain is a fountain of ideas spilling upon my keyboard and being transformed into a physical (well, digital) thing. Feel free to leave some comments and stuff! Thanks if you do, and thank you again for reading!

(Also, upon editing several times and making changes...this...this interlude has really gotten out of hand in terms of length. Oh well. I apologize if it's a bit much. I really should consider making a separate story for all these little side stories.)

_Encyclopedia:_

_Weapons. Everyone has one, everyone needs on. Here's a few notable ones:_

_Heaven and Hell. A set of magnums that Welkin and Chris co-developed. These monstrous beauties are a product of Welkin's straight forward, brute force method mixed with Chris' more elegant and lighter work. These black and chrome pistols pack a super-pressured version of the .44 magnum round. These rounds, normally too taxing on barrels to use effectively, fit the magnum well. Welkin, who originally designed the base, made sure that the cartridge wouldn't explode on him. Chris further simplified the design and refined the gas system to be more power-efficient. Eventually, they gave it to Erin, who applied the engravings onto it: an elegant valkyrie with a lance on Heaven and a devilish succubus with a scythe on the other. The magnums hold roughly 8 rounds each, including one in the chamber. (Imagine large 1911s, and you've got Heaven and Hell.)_

_Vermilion Blitz. Often misjudged as being simply the gauntlets Welkin uses, the actual weapon set also includes the heavy mechanical greaves. The basic design behind the gauntlets involve a series of hydraulics and springs that work together. The palm of the gauntlets includes a trigger that activates when depressed, releasing the springs and hydraulics that launch a heavy reinforced section of the gauntlet forward. When combined with a really hard punch from Welkin, the extra force will send enemies flying away. Hilariously, Yang has commented that the gauntlets remind her of those boxing gloves on spring trap toys. The greaves also use a similar mechanism, however these lock down instead of simply bouncing forward. When activated, metal parts on the greaves lock down in place, sometimes digging into the ground to stay put. Functionally, it keeps a fighter keep his position no matter how bad he's hit, but a strong enough blow will knock anyone off his feet. A fair amount of durability is needed also to use the set effectively, as if you lock down you are MOST LIKELY going to get it. Not a problem for Welkin though._

_Eagle Arms HURRICANE IIB. A custom made sniper rifle, built to order. Welkin ordered one while at Signal, to replace the school loaned Justus Four rifles. It's a heavy sniper rifle that fires .338 Lapua Magnum rounds accurately up to 1,800 meters, and to make it sweeter: it's semi-automatic, no bolt required. The rifle, black and silver in color, is quite hefty, and incredibly loud. It's equipped with a compensator to reduce recoil, but at the cost of being extraordinarily loud. Welkin uses this to pick at people too far away for him to punch, since he lacks guns in his gauntlets like a certain blonde bombshell. The rounds fly at incredible speeds, making them very hard to avoid unless you know and see it coming. The Hurricane, named so because when first test fired the muzzle blast kicked up a dust cloud, is a wonderful thing. The real flaws is it's excessive power in close range (like that matters,) and its so hard to transport around. When in collapsed form, it fits into itself in an almost perfect rectangular box. however, in this form its impossible to fire in case you need to, and its impossible to keep the scope and magazine inside it. (Imagine a modified L115A3, but black and silver and you've got this.)_

_Eagle Arms Tempest IC. A custom made sniper rifle, built to order. It's ginormous, and incredibly unwieldy. One has to wonder why in the hell a small girl like Erin would lug the beast around along with it's tripod. That being said, it's one hellofa sniper rifle. Funny enough, despite it's size, the designers managed to cut down on lots of weight by removing unnecessary additions and using a lighter material. The rifle, which fires 14.5 millimeters of AWESOME, is built specifically for long range; and god help you if you are on the receiving end of this marvel of engineering. It's meant to be fired on the tripod, as that gives the shooter the best control. However, in desperate times, its possible to simply fire it without it. This would probably dislocate your shoulder and cause arm damage from the recoil, but if it means your target is dead it was totally worth it. There is no collapsible version of this rifle, so Erin needs to disassemble it all and put it into her box for transport. A person wielding this wields the might of gods, as each bullet sounds and flies like a lightning bolt. The designers have joked that "Thor himself would be jealous of the sound it makes." (Imagine a larger, longer barreled AS50 sniper rifle, and you've got this.)_

_Alakal Industries AKS-417. One of the more elite models of assault rifles offered by the company Alakal Industries. The assault rifles of this series differs from the standard lines of direct impingement, opting to use the more reliable and robust piston gas operation. The rifle works wonderfully in all environments, be it rain, mud, or sand, and is claimed to have never failed a user ever. Chris procured a stock of these for his mercenary group a while back, purchasing a good quantity of ones offered with rails to add after market parts. The rifle has an average rate of fire, despite being an assault rifle, but is incredibly accurate when controlled properly. Add to that the amount of accessories an operator can add to it, and you have a very versatile rifle. There is no civilian variant of this gun, but there are rumors people could by them on the black market. Not the cheapest rifle, but one of the best because it needs less care and is so abnormally modular._


	15. Interlude: There and Back Again

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY and all that. I would like to claim ownership of original ideas though.

Intro Notes: Here we are, the second part of the interlude. Yes, it's a reference to The Hobbit, but I actually didn't realize it until after I finished editing and changing things. It seemed to fit, given how the previous title was Now and Then. I guess we could also see it as a way of saying we're back from the break. Chapter Three is on the way, I should have that finished within a few days. Anyways, here we go, please enjoy this interlude!

XxXxXxXxX

**Interlude: There and Back Again**

_The following stories occurred during or after parts five - eight, or during Chapter Two: Devil's Four. These are a collection of mini-events, meetings, and general conversations that happened behind the scenes. There may not be a specific point at which they occur, but there may be mentions as to what happened before or after. Some of these stories may even well tell the past._

XxXxXxXxX

_Story List: __Quiet Nights, Days Gone By, Hospital Days, A Bet_

XxXxXxXxX

Quiet Nights

Chris sat down at the bar counter, finally finished with the preparations. He was sending some mercenaries to go up with the prototypes to Alistier. He took a sip from his glass of orange soda he took from the refrigerator. He had decided to take a break at Junior's apartment again, he needed a little bit of r'n'r. The twins were missing, and he had already spoken to Junior. Chris reported that his information to Junior, who he found working in the office. The map in the room that Chris examined showed all their recent findings, and Junior had a small backlog of information to sort out. He dismissed him soon after, going back to work.

So now he was alone, at the bar counter in the apartment. It was a quiet night, nothing really to do. He didn't feel like going to the club, albeit he could assume the twins would like to drag him there (more Melanie than Miltia, but still.) He took a sip, maybe he should cook something to eat. Then he realized his predicament...he couldn't cook to save his life. Sure, eggs were simple, so was rice...but he needed something meatier than just egg, rice, and hoisin (or seafood) sauce. Too bad Welkin wasn't there to grill him something...oh wait steaks. Yeah he could make that, Welkin taught him the _bare_ basics of it (and how to make it firebomb your mouth). He shook his head, tabasco sauce, siracha sauce, and 'the MAN' sauce was not meant to be mixed at all...but Welkin did it and gods did it burn (though the bite he was able to take tasted great). Chris got up and dug through the fridge, pulling out a packet of rather large pieces of sirloin steak and half an onion. He also gathered the pepper grinder and salt shaker, to season the meat with. Chris was in the process of seasoning the meat and heating the pan when Miltia walked in, wearing a red sleeveless dress.

"Oh, you're cooking? I was about to make something too..." Miltia stepped over to look at what he was doing.

"Well, I was planning on it."

"...you're putting too much salt. Here, let me." Chris moved aside to let her work. She quickly remedied his salt overload by countering it with some other spices. Chris watched as she handled the meat carefully, making sure it's seasoned all around. "There. Now let me wash my hands and you can start frying them up. I'll also get some rice cooking." Miltia turned around and washed her hands at the sink with soap, afterwards putting some rice into the cooker. Chris threw a meaty steak onto the hot pan, causing it to sizzle. A delectable scent flooded the room immediately.

"I wanted to uhh...grill these onions too." Chris moved the meat around to keep it from burning. He added a few more steaks to fill the pan.

"That will come later. Let's get the meat going first. Hmm...this seems a bit anemic. Why don't we add some vegetables...I think we have some sweet corn." Miltia moved over to look around. Chris could barely hear the quieter girl over the sizzling of meat.

"It just going to be the two of us? Where's Melanie?" Chris moved the meat some more.

"She's watching over the club like usual, since Junior can't do it. We can save her some for later, but she's not that keen on eating meat." Miltia moved and took over when she smelt that Chris began burning some of the steak. She quickly added the sweet onions in and stirred it around after flipping the steaks. The damage wasn't bad, in fact it looked like it added some texture.

"How..uh...do you know when to flip it?" Chris asked nervously, totally forgetting what Welkin had told him. He wasn't sure how to treat her, he knew she could kick his ass if she wanted to...but she was so much quieter than that spitfire of a sister. He liked her, sure, but it was hard not to. She was nice enough, a capable cook, and clean. Almost the opposite of Melanie, who would skip meals if there wasn't anything prepared. Of course, if he even took any advances he was certain Junior would throw him across the room...or hit him with that batzooka.

"You look on the sides. When it turns this color, it's a good idea to flip it. Can you get some plates?" Chris retrieved some nice plates. They were decorated with red flourishes and patterns. Almost like Miltia's dress. He placed them on the dining table with some knives and forks, turning around to see Miltia prepping some sides.

"Thanks. Here I thought I might burn down the house from my horrible cooking." Chris stood aside as Miltia moved to plate steaks down. He poured her a glass of soda while she finished putting other stuff on the plate, making it very presentable. "Gotta say. Looks amazing." Miltia smiled at him.

"For you? Of course. It's a quiet night anyway, might as well make it a relaxing evening with a nice meal." Miltia took a seat across from Chris. "Cheers, good sir." Miltia smirked at the young man. Chris smiled back somewhat awkwardly and their glasses tapped together.

"Cheers indeed. Now let's give this a shot..." They were about to saw into the steak when Junior came out. "Hey Junior."

"I thought I smelled some really good steak. Mind if I join you kids? Haven't had a good steak in a while."

Chris gestured with his right hand at the empty seat next to him, "Grab a plate and feel free." Junior walked over to the counter and grabbed a plate. Miltia got a bottle of whiskey and ice in a cup, she poured him a drink, which Junior took. The group started eating, enjoying each other's company. It was a quiet night after all, no need to spoil it by making it loud.

At least until Chris and Junior had a few more drinks on the rocks.

XxXxXxXxX

Days Gone By

Yang sat on the window of their dorm. She had opened them wide and sat on the edge, with her back against the left side of the window. She was enjoying the soft breeze while listening to some music on Ruby's headphones. Her thoughts were on the lyrics, which she hummed, "There's a fire...starting in my heart..." Her thoughts soon drifted to the back as the song picked up pace. She nodded along to the drums. She turned her head slightly and waved at Blake, who had returned from her weekly visit to the library.

"Hey there! Welcome back."

"Hey Yang. Where are the other two?" Blake asked as she put her book back on her bed and unpacked the new books she had borrowed. She had spent the morning and most of noon at the library, and now that it was around three she decided it was a good time for a short nap.

"Dunno. I think I heard Ruby say something about taking Weiss to hang out with Vomit-boy and the others." Yang grinned at the thought of Jaune being 'vomit boy.' She would never let him live that down.

"That doesn't sound too bad. Good to hear that the two of them are getting along."

"Yep. It was rocky at first, but now everything's smooth as marble." Yang turned back to look out the window."Well, relatively. Maybe more like cracked granite." Blake smiled softly at that.

"So, what are you up to? Normally you'd be out partying with your groupies." Blake asked as she placed the books on the table from her bed.

"Huh? Oh, you know. Just thinking about days gone by." Yang shrugged and smiled a bit.

"I see. It's nice to reflect on things. Thinking about anything in particular?" Blake tilted her head and sat down at the table next to Yang.

"Mh...yeah actually. I was thinking about when we first started making stuff at the armory of Signal. Ohhh man Mister Damon was such a cool dude who would help you with almost any project...as long as you didn't make him mad. I remember some kid almost broke his induction forge by overloading it. He beat the hell out of that kid because the damage was so severe."

"He actually hit students?"

"Nah. Not unless you challenged him for berating you too hard. He would take you to the ring and beat the pants off you. That was the most fun class. Had it with a buncha my close friends."

"Welkin too?"

"You're never going to stop bothering me about my relationship with him are you?" Yang smirked at her partner. Blake looked down somewhat. "Yeah, Welkin was there. So was Chris." Yang made a mental note to torture her over Sun Wukong later. The least she could do was tease her back for constantly badgering her about Welkin.

"Oh...what did you guys do?"

"Eh, you know, built weapons and stuff! Generally had fun because the class was more relaxed. Our project was to get a weapon perfect. And that was hard. I think only a handful of people passed Mister Damon's class with A's, let alone B's."

"Wait, is this the Damon that works at Beacon's armory? The one that is married to Professor Fabcaster? Blake looked at the blonde, who nodded.

"Yeap. I didn't expect them to get married, they were always close and fun. Geo was scary when he was mad...but man, if Miss Fabcaster gets going...I'm fairly certain she exploded a classroom at one point because Mister Damon was being an idiot around her." Blake raised an eyebrow, if that was the kind of stuff she missed by not going to Signal...she wasn't sure to be glad or not.

"That's quite interesting. Heh. You sound like you had a lot of fun."

"Welll...yeah...good days." Yang nodded. She produced a plate of buns, slightly cooler than normal because of being next to the window. She offered Blake one. Blake took one with a thanks.

"I would like to learn how you make these one day. These are quite excellent."Blake bit into the delicious sweet roll. The smooth honey glaze, despite being cooled and slightly hard, was so perfect on the bun.

"I'll teach you one day! You 'n me, we'll go borrow a kitchen and make a batch...Actually, why not now?" Yang jumped off the window. She pulled off the headphones, feeling the energy in her bubble up again. Blake looked at her after finishing the sweet roll. "We can also have some tea and crumpets later!"

"...Okay! Let's go then." Blake immediately got up and followed Blake out the room, locking it behind her. Sure, there were times to look at the past and the days gone by...but you always gotta come back to the now to make those days. (And even though she would get a ton of honey spilled on her by accidentally knocking over a bowl full of glaze, it would be a good memory.)

XxXxXxXxX

Hospital Days, or the Infamous Explosion

Welkin roared down the bike, looking through his rear mirrors every so often. He ducked as a bullet whizzed by and cracked the very mirror he was looking at. Damnit why him? Jinxed Thirteen, totally living up to the name. It was an easy delivery they say! No one wants this package they say! My freaking ass it was easy. He performed a wheelie and roared down the street even faster, trying to out speed his pursuers. It was unfortunate that there wasn't as much traffic on the freeway today, he really could have used it. He pulled out his magnum Hell and quickly reloaded it. He was going to need to shoot some poor sod if he was going to live today. He tried to ignore the searing pain in his side, leg, and arm. Bloody hell getting shot hurts. Welkin swerved a bit, moving around the eighteen wheeler. Then he saw several cars stop in front of them. The truck came squealing to a halt early, to avoid crashing into them. Welkin's eyes widened when he saw the RPG pointed at him. "OH COM'ON!" He rolled his eyes and kept going. And to make matters worse, his phone was ringing. He swerved and slide his bike on his side, ducking underneath the fragmentation rocket. He stopped and looked at the man wielding the RPG, who just raised his eyebrows in confusion. He took a moment to tap his headset, "Kinda busy, what is it?" The man reloaded in the mean while and the others started firing at him with their pistols. Welkin roared off the ramp he was facing and into the city. "Bloody hell, they really want me dead."

"Yeah, playing a game? Sounds really bad. You okay?" He heard Yang's voice.

"Better now that I'm talking to you my little dragon, you need something? I'm kind of busy."

"Are...you free later?"

"Sorry Yang, I don't mean to rush you, but what is it? There are some angry men who want me dead apparently. I think this package I'm carrying was something more important than they explicitly said."

"Okay...Well...we just finished at Signal. You know, our third year. I was wondering if you wanted to..catch up I guess?" Yang muttered into the phone.

"It's already the end of that huh? Maybe. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I wanted to see if you wanted to come to the Arlington Shopping Center with me. It just got renovated so I was wondering if you'd join me and take a look?"

Welkin swerved into an alleyway, taking a quick breather. He was really badly hurt, but at the same time he wanted to see Yang. Letters were only so good until they became ineffective. It's been a while, it would do them good to see. "Make it a yes for now."

"Great! I'll see you there at four! Main entrance okay?"

"Fine. I'll see you there." The call ended with a click and Welkin roared off down the alley and onto his road. God dangit his EMW bike was going to give him hell for putting it through this level of stress. Not to mention he was really banged up. He reasoned his aura would heal him up enough to be functional, even if he wasn't that clean.

He swerved around a tight corner and kept going, attempting to lose the men. He was crossing an intersection when one of his pursers t-boned him and sent him flying away. The bike grinded against the floor and skirted off, significantly damaged from the crash. Welkin rolled over from being face down, his goggles shattered from the crash landing. He couldn't feel his left leg any more, and the wounds were starting to get really bad. He landed near a refueling station...when a horrible idea crossed his mind. As one of the men walked over to finish him off, Welkin fired a few rounds into the station's machinery, causing it to light up. The man looked at the machinery...when it hit critical mass and exploded. His pursuers were caught in the blast, as was he. He was further rolled away from the shock, fairly certain he died. He couldn't see his bike but he started hearing police sirens of some kind. He passed out not long afterwards. Looks like he wasn't going to be able to make it after all.

XxXxXxXxX

Yang was waiting at the entrance to the shopping center. It had been at -least- three hours, and she was getting impatient. Welkin was always punctual, no matter what. Unless being in prison changed him for the worse. She didn't know the details. All she knew was the eternal guilt she had for almost killing him. It was in self defense, yes...but still. Someone close to her almost died because of her. It was already a year now...or was it a month? Yang wasn't sure herself at that point. She paced around the front entrance, waiting. Then something peculiar caught her attention. She walked over to check out the news. There was a huge dust explosion in the commercial district. Apparently some gang members were chasing down a courier who was carrying something. They didn't talk about what they were carrying, but they were shooting off assumptions that the courier was carrying drugs.

"I tell you Bob, these kids are getting out of hand. And these couriers are no good. Half the time those courier services deliver crack and cocaine! I say we get rid of all of em! Our society doesn't need 'em!"

"Thanks for your insight Larry, we'll come back to you on that. We've got continued coverage. Police have identified that several gang members from the so called "Machete Guild" were chasing after a package that was being delivered by Courier Thirteen." The news caster showed a photo of the gang's emblem and the service's emblem. "Police in pursuit were unable to catch up to them until now. We'll go to our team live now."

"Thanks Jenny. We're here live at the scene. That station right behind me is what's left after the explosion. Witnesses say they saw the courier on the floor about to be executed by the gangsters. They claim that the courier shot one of the fuel stations and caused a chain explosion. Members from the machete gang fled the location after the explosion. The courier and other injured people have been transported to the Solus International Hospital." The camera panned several times to look at the blasted up block. It then showed Welkin's Star of Polaris ID photo. "This was the courier who was came under attack. Unfortunately, we were unable to find the contents of the package due to company policies. We'll be bringing you more coverage on the story later in the evening. Back to you Jenny."

Yang didn't know what to say. This has got to be the second or third time he's gotten so badly hurt. She checked the local map with her phone, and ran towards the hospital. It was close enough to jog to, thankfully. She had to figure out what the heck happened to him.

XxXxXxXxX

Yang waited in the waiting room to be called by the attendants. She had lied and said she was his sister, and that the rest of the kin were elsewhere. They consented after she did a little begging, thank god she picked up that puppy-dog eye skill from Ruby. A nurse called her over and escorted her through the clean, pinesol scented halls. They stopped at a room when a fairly tall, platinum haired blonde woman stepped out, closing the door behind her. Yang could recognize the doctor's coat on her. The woman was dressed elegantly for a doctor; heels, long skirt, and dress shirt. Honestly, without her coat she would look more like the sexy office lady type. The nurse talked quietly with the doctor for a bit and introduced Yang to her, before turning to file more things. "Miss Xiao Long. A pleasure to meet you. I am the Chief-of-Surgery here, Doctor Fenris Ilyana Reinhardt." Yang noted that was one of the most Germanic accents ever. She offered a handshake, which Yang took. "Follow me if you would." Yang tailed along, looking at everything happening. The ward was abnormally full, well, all things considered. She could guess it was probably because of the explosion. The doctor led her in front of the ICU unit, "Please be quiet in here. Intensive care is where all the worst patients go."

Yang nodded and Doctor Reinhardt stepped in with her close behind. Every so often she could see some really badly injured patients on beds. There were many physicians and nurses around, working to help their patients. She noticed how unnervingly quiet it was in there. Doctor Reinhardt stopped at a bed and gestured, "Please be careful, he is still recovering." Welkin was passed out on the bed, bandaged up like a mummy. Yang felt a little hurt by the fact she had told him to not get so banged up next time after the last crash he was in. She jinxed him.

"How bad is it doctor?"

"He will recover, there is no doubt about that. His constitution is unlike that I have ever seen, and his aura managed to keep him alive. We've performed surgery immediately on his arrival. There we were able to repair major trauma from the blast shockwave. We have also fixed the many bullet wounds. We have also placed him on antibiotics because he had contracted a minor infection. Unfortunately though Miss Xiao Long, he is still unconscious. We have reason to believe that he's entered a coma, and we're working on fixing that." The Doctor flipped through the medical clip board. "Other than that, we have repaired all we can. We will continue monitoring the situation of course."

"I...see." Yang managed to understand what needed to be understood. It was hard to decipher that accent sometimes. "Is there anything I can do? Can I get him anything or whatever?"

"Alas, no. Your thoughts are appreciated however. Now if you'll follow me..." Doctor Reinhardt closed the curtains again and led Yang to a small office on the side. After they entered, the doctor closed the door behind her. "I will just need you to sign these forms here. Permission to keep him here until he's fine and that paperwork garbage."

"Uh...yeah...um..." Yang mumbled, totally realizing she couldn't do so legally. "I'm not actually uh..."

"I could guess. That matters not in this situation. His parents are out of town and any nearby kin does not wish to sign the appropriate papers." She clicked her tongue in thought. "Here, sign it anyway and I will find a loophole. The man who manages the paperwork around here, LeBlanc, owes me a few favors anyways."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to lie. He is...well, was, a good friend of mine. We've done this before to be honest."

Yang saw the doctor's face light up into a smile. "Yes...I figured we had met before. It was his left arm correct? It was nearly blown off if I remember correctly. It was...quite a challenge to put it back together. For the last few days of my residency, that was quite harrowing."

"Wait...you were the surgeon who fixed his arm?" Yang's eyes widened in surprise. The woman didn't even look that OLD! She was maybe in her mid-late twenties if she had to guess.

"Mmmh. I was finishing my residency. Afterwards I took the post of surgeon here. The other two surgeons, and the head surgeon, was fired and stripped of their medical license when they were discovered to have been mishandling patients and stealing from the hospital. Ah, and by mishandle I mean they were stealing organs for profit." Yang could hear the disgust in Fenris' voice.

"I see, so they made you head surgeon because of that?" Yang couldn't believe they would let someone skip years of experience and given the role of Chief Surgeon in just a few years.

"At first I had the same expression you did when they proposed that. They had other choices of course, other surgeons with more experience to bring in. However, Solus International is one of the busiest hospitals around. According to the people in charge, they couldn't find a surgeon willing to take so many hours each week for the pay. They defaulted to me, but that wasn't too bad. I was the top of my class after all. Enough about me though, it has been a long day and I feel a bit more chattier than usual. Please sign here and here...and all these..."

It took several minutes, there were just that many papers to sign and initial. Yang was confused as to how the doctor could even STAND working with so much paper, especially since Fenris constantly referred to it as bureaucratic bullshit. After the last paper, Fenris collected it all and placed it into the patient's folder.

"That would be all. If you would like you can go talk to him for a bit before leaving. I have other patients to see to, so unfortunately I cannot escort you out. Just make sure you don't linger too long, okay?" Yang nodded and waved to the doctor.

"Thanks for everything doc."

"But of course. It is our sacred duty to fulfill our oath to help people, no matter what. I won't let bureaucratic bullshit get in the way of that. Please, have a nice day." The doctor strolled off in a hurry to find her next patient. Yang returned to where Welkin was and stood next to the bed.

"Hey...jackass. Didn't I say not to get hurt so badly anymore? And here you are getting banged up like there's no tomorrow. Com'on tex, you're better n this. You'll pull through! When you're out of here you definitely owe me dinner for all this stuff I have to do while your passed out! This isn't the worst you've ever been in man. Just hang on, you'll get better. And then we can talk again in person." Yang didn't know why she was talking to the comatose courier...it wasn't as if he could hear her. "I gotta go...I'll...take your bike to Ramirez's place to get it fixed for you. We'll all be waiting for you to get well and come busting outta the hospital like usual. I gotta get back to it now. Get well soon alright." She put a hand on his bandaged arm and turned to leave. She could have sworn she heard him say thanks...but that wasn't possible. He was passed out. Yang smirked to herself and left, next time they'll meet properly. Next time they'll get to have that long talk and catch up.

XxXxXxXxX

A week or two later, Doctor Fenris had finally allowed him to stand up on his own. They had managed to fix him up, and he was conscious by the end of the first week, albeit still too weak to do anything. He stretched as the doctor examined his limbs. "The picture of good health. Relatively, considering how injured you were. I think you are almost ready to be released."

"Really? Thanks doc. I want to get going...being idle for so long..."

"I never said when. There is a few more tests I would like to perform. Something is bothering me and I want to make sure the infection is really cleared up." Fenris flipped through some papers. "Ah yes, and your friend...she dropped by a little while back." She produced a small bag with a bright yellow ribbon. The yellow ribbon had a heart that seemed to be burning on it. Welkin took it and looked at the perfect white bag. He opened it up and peeked inside, smiling brightly.

"Ma'am, would you like a sweet roll?" Fenris took one with a nod and took a bite, savoring the deliciousness. Welkin looked at the card attached to the front:

'Hey Welks! Get well soon! We'll talk later!'

He folded the card back up and pocketed it. He looked around the hospital room. He went over to check his messages on his phone, which was sadly out of battery. "Excuse me ma'am, but do you have a place I can use to contact my company? I need to report to Star of Polaris and tell them what happened."

"Another courier took the liberty of doing so already. A quite a few dropped by, I believe Fourteen, Three, and Seven. If memory serves correct, Fourteen finished the delivery and Three alerted your HQ regarding your situation. You are on medical leave as per my request." Doctor Fenris finished off the sweet roll, licking her fingers before going over to wash her hands with soap and water.

"So...when do you reckon you'll let me go ma'am?" Welkin stretched as much as the bandages would allow him.

"Eager to get back to it I see. Very well. Give me three more days, to double check. And then you're free to go back to work. You're very lucky to be alive."

"I know ma'am. It's a shame that I won't be able to meet a close friend of mine because of it."

"I presume you mean miss Xiao Long?" Welkin nodded. Fenris put the clipboard away, "You'll see her some other time. But until then, please lay back down. You still need more rest." Welkin obliged and took a seat on the bed, preparing to lay back down. "I'll return when necessary, please try and not break out. I would rather not repeat your first time here." Welkin smirked wrly at the doctor. She had been referring to the time when he had broken out of the hospital, a little after they fixed his arm via surgery. He had managed to get out the front door before they realized he was missing, and almost got back to signal before some nurses with security brought him back. Too this day, he defends himself by saying he felt fine. He laid back down as the doctor left. He'll talk to them all another day. He'll mourn his lost friend another day. But now, he needed to rest.

XxXxXxXxX

A Bet

Erin turned around and stared down the cocky asshole. She wasn't surprised, it was only a matter of time before this jerk would come to hit on her. It was the same jackass who had apparently snubbed Yang even though the blonde finally agreed to a date. Somehow, he had survived the thrashing Welkin had given him. Erin was not in the mood, and the young man was a scumbag anyway.

"No." Erin turned to leave, before the guy could respond.

"Wait!" He ran after her, "Wait hear me out, how about we have a competition?" Erin rolled her eyes and kept walking, "Trust me, you'll like what I've got in mind!" Erin stopped.

"Fine, let's hear it." She was honestly going to crack her school bag against his face if it was a waste of time. Or something dumb.

"You're the best sharpshooter Signal has, there's no doubt about that. How about a friendly wager!" The teen smiled widely, "A shooting competition. I will bet you that you, Erin Maxswel, can't hit a target out at 2,000 meters! Using your regular rifle of course!"

"And why should I take that bet?"

"If...if you win I'll leave you alone forever. You'll get not a peep from me any more. I promise you that." An enticing proposition.

"And if I lose?"

"Well, you go on a date with me. Simple as that." The man grinned. Erin was genuinely tempted, a chance to test out her skill? But she didn't want to show off...well, not much at least.

"Are you going to make this a spectacle? I have a feeling you're going to rope Michael and Sunny in to be announcers or something like they were when Welkin and Yang fought."

"Yeah why not? It's going to be cool! I bet you cannot do it. I'm sure of it." Erin sighed, alright, he was asking for it.

"You realize you're not going to win right? You're asking the master of range to shoot for you." Erin smirked. The man nodded, "Fine. I'm free Friday afternoon, I won't be helping the infirmary that day."

"Cool! I'll see you there! Also, yes, you can have a spotter."

"And no, this doesn't count as a date. If you start spreading stuff like that around I WILL have someone finish the job." Erin turned and walked off towards class. Friday, that was going to be interesting...she was not one to boast about her skill, but it had been a while since she shot something impossibly far. Two thousand meters with a 14.5mm rifle? That shouldn't be too hard.

XxXxXxXxX

Chris sat down next to Erin, unpacking his binoculars for use. He looked at the smaller girl, who was cleaning a field stripped rifle. A small group had gathered on the bleachers behind them, while a professor set up a target at the 2,000 meter mark. The guy who had challenged her, Alex or something, sat nearby with his gang. They were talking about the odds of the shot. Chris looked back at the girl, who sat there calm and collected as if nothing big was going on, as if it was a normal day of practice for them.

"Nervous?" Chris finally asked.

"No." Erin finished cleaning and put the rifle back together, "Should I be?"

"Well, no...but you seem not bothered by this. You haven't practiced all week and it's a target out at 2,000 meters. Are you sure you can make that?"

"Do you believe I can Chris?" Erin smiled lightly at her spotter. He shook his head.

"It's not whether I believe you can or not, it's whether or not you actually CAN shoot that? It's farther than anything we've ever shot...and the effective range of your rifle caps off at like 1650 or so."

"Don't worry about it." Erin locked everything in place again. Chris just stared at her, seriously?

The professor returned, "Alright, let's see what you can do little lady. 2,000 meters exactly, five rounds. At least one hit."

Erin adjusted her aim from her seated position, shifting the tripod mounted rifle and scanning the area near the target. She ran the math through her head, adjusting the mils with some twisting of the knobs. She noticed there was a barrel really close to the target...just a little further than 2,000. Chris looked down the binoculars, watching the target. "Fire when ready." Erin immediately fired, the crowd held their breath. "Miss." The bullet ricocheted off the ground, short of the target. Erin shifted again and fired again; the round getting slightly closer, but missing regardless.

"Miss! Adjust here..." He was about to call out the adjustments when Erin shushed him.

"Shh, I've got it." Erin muttered and fired again. Another miss, the round landed a little closer to the target.

"That's three out of five Erin, are you su-"

"Not right now." Erin readied her rifle again.

"You can always give up you know, a date with me isn't that bad..." She could hear the taunt from the teen, followed by the laughter from his gang. "I might even please you for all you know!" Erin ignored him and fired again. That's when Chris realized something. The rifle round bounced off the barrel, leaving a massive tear in it. "Are your eyes working? Maybe you aren't the best after all." Erin shifted a bit more, then froze. She sat up without moving the rifle much.

"Last shot little lady." The professor gestured to the range.

"Aww, surrender ain't bad. Please, you'll still be the best sh- Oh wait no you won't!" The teen laughed again. Chris rolled his eyes, as did Erin. "Gonna get me a date with the hottest sniper in town! I can feel it already!" He gloated repeatedly to his gang.

"By the way, you can take that date and shove it down your throat." She leaned back in and fired immediately after a quick adjustment.

The crowd leaned forward, anticipating a response. The air grew quiet, as people strained to see the target impossibly far away. The bullet had definitely gone somewhere by then. Erin gestured for Chris to look at the target. Chris checked the target again with his binoculars...and grinned.

"Hit! Neck shot, head fell off!" He called out. The crowd jumped up and cheered. Best sniper indeed. She stood up from her seat and dusted off her dress.

"Wow...I was not expecting that." The man could only say.

"We had a deal. Now, good day." Erin turned and cleaned up as he and his gang dragged their feet off. Chris helped clean up as the crowd dispersed.

"You were messing with him."Chris said as he packed away the binoculars.

"Now now, let's not assume such mean things. I was not messing with him. I was genuinely trying." Erin put everything away into a box to take back to the school's armory.

"I saw that barrel shot, don't lie to me." Chris looked at her blandly.

"...I may have taken some liberties to get his hopes up." Erin smiled softly and picked up her gear, "Want to grab something to eat?" Chris smirked and nodded. He could only think about how cruel Erin secretly was, giving a man such a chance...and then immediately ripping it out of his grasp. That was next level cruelty. And thankfully he would never have to deal with that.

XxXxXxXxX

Notes:

I'll get around to doing that companion story to this eventually. I think I'm going to call it Another Side's Stories. When I get to it (probably after I actually finish the whole work), I'll probably put alternate timelines into it. Just snippets and oneshots if some characters were there or not. I'll probably also include more jokes and references. I might actually open up requests for scenarios, might being the key word there because I'm nervous about not being able to properly fulfill a person's request. For some odd reason, I can already imagine a western timeline (The Dragon, the Fenrir, and the Nerd? Maybe?) I swear these ideas are going to drive me over the brink of madness (because I can't get it ALL done, and some actually are forgotten before I can implement them.)

I know some characters need more development. A part of me regrets not utilizing the two part system in the earlier chapters, as it would have helped me flesh out what's going on. I feel as though I'll revisit the earlier chapters and put more work into fixing it. Lemme know how I could do some changes! I'll take them to heart and get right to work on suggestions. Of course, other input would be awesome, like whether or not the characters are developing, whether they're too OOC (because let's face it, they probably ARE.) I'll make adjustments and go back and revise.

Thanks again, I probably won't be doing this without you guys reading this. It's nice to see people at least skimming the work. Sure I'm more concerned with writing an actual story with legitimate characters, but it's a good motivator.

PS: Yes, Yang was listening to Rolling in the Deep by Adele. I just happened to be listening to it too when I wrote that and my head started bobbing. Give it a listen, and try not to bob along to the drums.

_Encyclopedia:_

_Midias Towers: A pair of ultra-luxurious towers that was under construction for the rich and famous. It is unsure as to who is truly financing them, as the project was dropped and picked up several times by several firms. Supposedly, the current owners and financiers would be the Schwere Konig's Company and the Schnee Dust Company. This high end housing was designed to be luxurious. Apartments there ranged in the ridiculously expensive range to the modestly expensive range. Considering its location, it had perfect views of the other sectors of the city. The towers were designed to be very modern, and sports several amenities that would make a five star hotel look like it was a three. Things such as a parking structure for everyone, a FEW olympic sized pools, a roof top garden and small park, and several high-end retailers made this place sound awesome...on paper. The fact of the matter is, the cost was incredibly prohibitive. The passing of hands is really a formality at this point, as no one really can afford to invest in such a massive set of towers. Although there is still construction work going on, the bare bones work crew unfortunately doesn't operate as effectively as a fully reinforced one. It's become less of a symbol of opulence, and more of a symbol of how the hubris of one rich man led to such incredible waste._


	16. Part Nine: Bloody Monday

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY and all that stuff, I would like to claim ownership of original ideas however.

Intro Notes: And we're back! With another part. This is the beginning of the end ladies and gentlemen. Chapter three: the end of an era. For this chapter, we're going to focus a little more on team JNPR and what they're up to during the events of Bloody Monday. There's only this side to this part, which may seem a bit strange considering how much I -could- write. I'll be honest with you, it's probably because I'm not entirely sure how to write JNPR. I'm going to warn ahead of time as a precaution that some things might be taken out of character, or they haven't been fully developed enough for me to imagine their personality. I still had fun writing this chapter though, albeit it took a little longer to formulate than others.

I would like to warn everyone ahead of time as well that Chapter Three will be a lot more violent than the previous chapters. I'm not talking M rated gore and guts everywhere, but there will be blood. Enough blood for a teen reader, mind you.

Thank you all for coming back and reading, and thank you for following along. In the meanwhile, time to work on Part 10!

XxXxXxXxX

**Chapter Three: The End of an Era**

Part 9: Bloody Monday

XxXxXxXxX

The shutdown of all the power sources around the city caused untold amounts of damage. Most of the civilians flooded out of the residential area due to the increase in crime. The shut down also powered down a significant portion of the wall protecting Vale. This in turn let untold amounts of grimm slip into the city by cover of the storm, and the military confused as to what to do next. The streets were painted red with the blood of man, be they looters, civilians, or soldiers. Society crumbled in areas without power as the law enforcement could not contain the many fires in the area. The storm continued to pound over the city, dousing fresh fires that erupted sporadically around the city. Arson, theft, and all other crime was left unchecked, and criminals were left uncontested as they redrew their territory in blood.

Civilians fled to checkpoints in the Commercial area. The remaining SWAT and Police force established a strong perimeter around the remaining powered area. They held the line and organized the tide of refugees, all the mean while running constant patrols to check for any danger that might come upon the evacuating people. Doctors from the local clinics and hospital organized relief centers at public centers, reallocated from the government or private ownership. Medical supplies were constantly being shipped from warehouses next to Solus International Hospital, under strict guard to defend against potential looters. Civilian housing was also opened up in refuges around the city, some even forming their own temporary shanty towns to shelter themselves from the weather. Remainders of the military organized logistics behind the scenes, some calling it Operation Sanctuary. Despite their best efforts things were not looking in their favor; they had lost the ports and any potential of getting resupplied from there, and the airport in the Commercial district was overtaxed already.

Of course, not all was grim. At the same time students and staff from Beacon arrived regularly to assist with the ongoing operation. Many of the younger students were allocated to assisting clinics or refuges, helping civilians create at least a small bit of haven for them. Older students and staff were organized into teams to root out the grimm, assisting the military as much as they could. Several teams also ran search and rescue missions, trying to reunite lost family members or reach into the darkened city to find survivors. Teams were placed on rotations by senior staff, but many disregarded it and went out of their way to help off shift.

XxXxXxXxX

Jaune followed behind one of the more senior members of the school. Team JNPR was assisting an older team, team VLET, with a mission. They were looking for a swat team that was reported as MIA. They had combed through several sections of the city already, to no avail. The leader of VLET turned and waved down Professor Damon.

"We're back to a full circle, what do we do now?" The three started discussing their next plan of action while Jaune and his team looked at a map. They were checking off locations they could potentially have been. Since the SWAT team was extremely hush hush about what they were doing, they had no real way of knowing whether or not they were looking in the right area. Jaune checked off Azula Library on the map, scanning where they have missed.

"Hey what's with this blank spot here?" Nora pointed to a fairly large blank area. There was no building marked on the map.

"Uh...I'm not sure? Does anyone else know?"

"I believe that's where they're building the Midias Towers. They're supposed to be high end housing, and construction started a few years back. It's been sluggish though, and the building is really just a skeleton of what it is to become." Ren said.

"Awww, Ren, you're a genius! How did you know that?!" Nora asked her partner.

"I was watching a news special on the construction of it. It's supposed to be built to withstand any natural disaster. But that's beside the point. We have not checked there I believe?" Jaune nodded and went over to talk to the other two.

"Excuse me, I hope I'm not interrupting anything too important...but I've got a suggestion on where to check next." The others turned to look at him.

"Okay son, what have you got?" Professor Damon looked at him. Jaune was kind of intimidated by the guy to be honest. He was tall, muscular, and had a giant axe as a weapon. If memory served him correctly, Professor Geo Damon was in charge of the armory at Beacon. That included weapon maintenance and lessons on weapons at the school. While many students had already built or attained their own weapons beforehand, his classes and help were used to improve on existing designs or create new designs of weapons. People regard him as stern and stoic, but a total softy when with his wife.

"I recommend going to check out the construction site for the Midias Towers. It's a blank spot on the map, but one of my team mates say that's where it's being built. It's worth a shot, considering the police won't talk more about what they were doing before they lost contact." Jaune pointed out a route for them to take. The leader of team VLET nodded along, agreeing to the plan. She organized the group to let them know their plans.

"Alright. Stick together now. We don't know why they're missing or how they've gone missing. Assume the worst, and protect each other." Professor Damon let team VLET lead, with JNPR in the middle. They made their way through the storm and towards the area of the Midias Towers. After a few blocks, Jaune could make out a fairly tall structural frame for one of the towers. The floors were mostly missing, leaving only the skeletal frame of the building only covered with randomly placed tarps. The construction crane loomed over head.

The lead scout of team VLET swept around the corner and called out; he had found the SWAT van...and the remains of the SWAT team. He was about to gesture some more when the roll of thunder blanketed the area. The scout fell to the floor immediately, clutching his neck. Something had torn it out almost, and he lay there choking. The leader of VLET ran over and dragged him back into cover.

"Oh my god, there's so much blood..." Jaune could make out Pyrrha saying.

"Don't worry, you'll be okay!" The medic, Liliana or something or other, patched the scout up and worked on his injuries.

"Did you guys see that? What was that?" The leader called out, leaning from behind cover. She shifted a bit more and peered out to see what had done the damage. "I don't think it was a specter, we would have felt it's presence otherwise."

"I think that was a rifle round." They heard Professor Damon say. "It seems impossible, but when you think about it...the thunder rolled in right when the shot happened. We couldn't hear the report of the rifle because of it. The flash of the lightning also didn't help because it covered up the rifle's flash."

"So we've got an enemy sniper here? That seems so impossible. There's nowhere to hide in the are-" The leader of team VLET was about to continue when a shot, clearly from a high caliber rifle, pierced the metal cover and lodged itself into her side. She cried out as her team mates dragged her back.

"We heard that for sure." Ren stated. He grabbed the map and checked the surrounding area. This was the tallest structure in the nearby vicinity. Anyone making a shot on them would probably have height advantage...but they would also sound a lot closer. That rifle had a roll like thunder, and Ren reasoned that that is because it was actually farther than they expected. "What's the tallest structure within a mile or so of this place?"

"That would be the Gladius Belltower, about a mile and some away. Why do you ask?" Pyrrha looked at the taller man. He checked the location on the map in comparison with their position.

"Our sniper has to be hiding there. There is no way they could be any closer, the height advantage would be negligible and we would be within striking range. Here, let's try some bait..." He looked around nearby, away from the exposed yard. Ren managed to produce a yellow hard hat. He planted it on a stray piece of rebar and readied it. In the meanwhile, Pyrrha and Nora borrowed a pair of binoculars from the lead scout (who had been stabilized, thankfully). He called out ready as the two positioned themselves in a place they COULD see the tower, and potentially not get hit.

Ren raised the 'bait' into the air and moved it as if it was looking around. He bobbed it slightly like he was pacing back and forth or moving around, dipping it every so often to make it look realistic. He held his breath and waited...when lightning flashed above them and the crack of thunder rolled in. The helmet immediately flew off the rebar and bounced away, causing Ren to drop the bar on the floor.

"Got it! The shooter is definitely at the tower, we saw the flash!" Pyrrha called back as they regrouped.

"Well shoot, how we going to deal with that? That's way too far away to shoot back with anything we have." Nora scratched her head slightly.

"We could always approach the shooter from a blind spot and take them out. One team can stay here and tend to the wounded we have." Jaune suggested.

"It would be dangerous to split the teams. Especially since the Grimm can most likely smell our wounds. We would have to retreat and let another team deal with it. " Professor Damon crossed his arms in contemplation.

"Then Professor, you can take team VLET back, we'll go and take out the sniper and figure out what he's guarding. We can handle that." Jaune looked at the bigger man. He raised an eyebrow back at Jaune.

"I don't think so."

"But, we have to finish the mission!"

"Not with two people down we will not. We're returning to base, and that's the end of it. I'll let the next team know they've got a sniper to deal with when searching here."

"Professor, I know we can handle this. Give us this chance." Jaune stared at the Professor. The older man sighed.

"I hope you're not biting off more than you can chew. Go. I'll escort these four back. Don't do anything stupid." Geo picked up both the wounded team VLET members with ease and hurried off, the other two followed along. Jaune watched them go off and he looked at his team mates.

"Okay...let's go take care of that sniper. How...should we approach this?"

"I think your idea of getting closer without them realizing is a good one. It would be bad if he knew we were on the way." Ren looked at the map. "Actually...if the evacuation is underway...why don't we cut through the buildings?"

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha looked at the map, wiping off some rain from the screen. Ren took the digital map back from Pyrrha and drew out a very straight forward route to the tower. He marked buildings they would have to go through.

"It would keep us off the main avenues." Pyrrha nodded along.

"Ah I see, so they don't see us coming from any major roads. The tower does have the best view over any major streets and side streets going up to it. Well Jaune? What do you think?"

"Hmm...if we follow this path we're going to cut into a park though..."

"Then let's reroute this way." Ren redrew the map. He showed off the new route, and Jaune nodded.

"Let's try and keep it as unsuspicious as possible. We need make sure that sniper doesn't see us coming." Jaune gestured, "I think we can handle any grimm that gets in our way, right?" His teammates nodded to him and they swept around, moving through the city.

XxXxXxXxX

The residential area was unnervingly quiet. It had become devoid of human life, and it had become a very eerie adventure. They had crossed several buildings, avoiding grimm and looters when they could. The team had crossed several blocks, and each street looked the same. They had crossed through several houses and apartment buildings as well. Jaune could see even Nora was nervous going through a person's home...seeing everything shattered and scattered about. Seeing the portraits of the family that used to live there. Seeing that sort of stuff was just heart breaking.

Pyrrha opened a broken door slightly, looking inside. She almost retched, definitely regretting looking inside. Jaune patted her back gently, "Are you alright?"

"Let's...not go through this way." Pyrrha looked at the group and gestured for them to use another room to get through the house.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?" Pyrrha nodded. "If we can't do this, we can call it. I don't want to fo-"

"It's not that kind of sickness Jaune...but thanks. Let's keep going." Pyrrha recomposed herself. She swore to herself that she and her team would purge the grimm and evil from the city. She vowed to make Vale into what it had been before, a city of hope and prosperity. She would keep that sight for herself. The others did not need to see a family butchered by grimm in their child's bedroom.

Jaune pulled the window up and stood aside as Nora and Ren jumped through into the alleyway in between. Pyrrha followed along and then Jaune jumped to join them. He barely landed when he heard a growl. Grimm. Jaune unsheathed his sword and unfolded his shield immediately, reading for combat as the others formed a defensive square. They could see a handful of beowolves down one side, and what looked like an Ursa on the other. It seems they had dropped in right when the Ursa and Wolves were going to fight each other. "Focus on the beowolves, whittle their numbers down so we can deal with the ursa last!" He called out and shifted his stance, he charged with the others into the mob of Beowolves. A beowolf howled and charged at the group, leaping to try and claw Jaune's face off. He managed to shield bash it instinctively and stabbed it in the chest, ending its life immediately. He swept his blade and managed to deliver a vicious cut to the following beowolf. His training with Pyrrha and the rest of the team was really paying off.

Nora jumped and slammed her hammer down on the closest beowolf, planting it's head into the hard pavement and burying it with a grenade for good measure. She launched herself into a back flip and landed on her feet perfectly. Ren fired his machine pistols into the group in the mean while, before using his aura to punch out a beowolf that had come too close. In the short span they managed to kill quite a number of the pack. Pyrrha slammed her javelin into a closer one when she heard the thumping of the charging ursa. She rolled out of the way as the beast crashed into the group of beowolves, mauling a number of the smaller grimm in frustration. However, this caught the attention of a rather large beowolf in the back of the pack. The alpha was here. It howled in anger and charged at the ursa for interrupting a potential meal (team JNPR), and leapt at the beast.

The bear and the wolf battled it out as Jaune and the others cleaned up the smaller minions. He covered Pyrrha's back while hacking away at any poor sod who got to close. The alpha wolf, surprisingly, got the upper hand and decapitated the larger ursa. The beast flopped backwards and vaporized, as the alpha wolf howled again and charged at Pyrrha. Jaune shoved her away and lifted his shield, blocking the heavy swipe. The beast backhanded the boy, foolish enough to get in the way. It turned its attention to the boy who was on the floor, stalking towards him. At least, until Nora pegged him with a grenade. The beast howled in anger, wounded from the blast. It and several beowolves retreated, scattering into the darkness or into open windows. Pyrrha and Ren fired on the beast as it retreated onto the rooftop.

When the beasts were gone they immediately reloaded and prepared to move out when Pyrrha remembered something Professor Port had taught them: Alpha wolves will usually regroup if the fight is not going their way...before ambushing them aga-

Pyrrha dived and tackled Jaune away as the alpha landed hard where Jaune was standing, scaring the day lights out of Jaune. The alpha turned and brought it's claw down on Pyrrha, who was unable to bring up her shield fast enough. Jaune rolled her out of the way and covered her, taking the swipe to his side and getting sent flying. He landed against the apartment block's building.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha scrambled to her feet and ran over to check on the leader. She could hear the snicker of the beowolf, or at least what she thought was a snicker. Nora launched herself and slammed her hammer into the beowolf, the weight of the weapon bringing it down slightly. She brought the hammer down again before sweeping it into the side of the opposing apartment block. The alpha fell limp on the hammer, but Nora fired a grenade or two into it to make sure. Ren finished off the remaining beowolves, and the survivors of the pack fled to find a new alpha to follow.

"Jaune! Can you hear me?! Stay with me!" Pyrrha knelt by her wounded leader, who was holding onto the gashes on his side.

"Damn, I was not expecting that. I can stand, help me up." Jaune gestured a bit, weary from the wounds. Pyrrha checked his wounds, his aura was healing him from what it looked like. The gash marks soon turned into dark pink blotches, before turning into a light red state.

"Thank you Jaune." Pyrrha helped him back up.

"Hey! Any time...okay...I need to take a break." Jaune shook his head and sighed. He wiped the sweat from his brow. The others gathered around. They helped Jaune into the next building they needed to cross. He took a seat at the kitchen table as Ren found them bottles of water. "Heh, there goes going through the place without fighting too much."

"Indeed, it seems our luck did not hold...landing right between grimm about to fight." Ren took a sip from his glass.

"Well, on the bright side, thats a few less grimm to deal with later! And a few less grimm to endanger civilians!" Nora smiled cheerily. "Where'd you get this water by the way? I thought the dust in the area was down...?" Ren tapped the one liter bottle he had found and opened on the table. "Oh. That's convenient." The group rested for a few minutes, taking stock of their equipment in the meanwhile.

"How's your side Jaune?" He looked up at Pyrrha and smiled shyly.

"Better, I could always do with more rest and to go make sure at the infirmary, but that can wait. Thanks for asking. Are we...ready to move out? It looks like we are." The group nodded in affirmation as their leader led them toward their objective.

XxXxXxXxX

Erin leaned back in her sniper's nest. The group she had fired on earlier had left, much to her surprise. They probably had some brain compared to the SWAT team she had eliminated. The Kestral had long since stopped working, so the wind was still messing with her shots. She could see the box still in place, nothing had changed. She scanned the surrounding area, but there was nothing of importance to note. At least, until she noticed that there was movement along an apartment block...actually surprisingly close to her. She shifted her position and peered down her scope again, "Odd...what's with the flashy lights...?" She eased up, watching the bright flashes. Definitely gunfire. Perhaps survivors? She saw an alpha crawl onto the top, congregating with a small pack of wolves on the roof. Erin took a potshot when the thunder cracked over head, the high power round going sailing through the air. The wind jarred it slightly, and the round smashed into a smaller wolf instead of the Alpha she intended to hit. She adjusted her sights when the Alpha dove back into the alleyway with the rest of the wolves. She could see more activity happening in another sector of the residential area and shifted again, prepping to fire. There was no shortage of targets, that was certain.

She opened fire on some grimm that was stalking an area. She took a moment and contemplated her situation. Here she was defending something that her grandfather would have wanted to defend. He had always been adamant about the eggheads in government not doing anything for the people. In truth, he was a member of Exodus since near the beginning. Erin was always close to her grandfather, indeed, it sometimes feel as though his influence was greater than her parents. She joined Exodus when she finished at Signal, it seemed natural for her. Being a librarian was nice and all, but she had really wanted to be a huntress. Unfortunately she was not skilled enough in a variety of combat, so she was rejected from Beacon. To that extent, she took on side jobs, competitions, anything to keep her aim up to speed. Exodus had put her to work as a sniper, usually over watching important personnel. She had personally saved many a field agent with her rifle, although no one would ever really recognize her actions.

Erin genuinely liked what Exodus was going to accomplish. You cannot change things without a monumental change to lead the way. She knew there were going to be lives lost, that people were going to die. She felt guilty that so many civilians were caught in the mess, but at the same time it was for the better. He grandfather taught her sacrifice is what makes mankind stronger. She fired again on some beowolves that were harassing a refugee group. Even knowing so, she still did her best to try and help people when they needed it. She couldn't every innocent die after all. Her thoughts drifted back to the task at hand: shooting some damned wolves so the civilians in the area could escape. She pushed the muzzle flashes she had seen in the alley way out of her mind for now. Right now? There were beasts to be put down.

XxXxXxXxX

Pyrrha leaned against the wall, peering carefully out the window. She could see the clock tower very clearly, but they would need to do a long sprint to get across. They had taken a bit longer than expected getting to the tower, now it was just a matter of ascending the tower and ending the sniper. She switched her javelin to her rifle and gestured across the way, "Short spring, then we'll be at the door. I doubt the sniper can fire on us when we're so close."

"Alright, everyone ready?" Jaune prepped himself to run. Ren stood by the door and prepared to open it so they could sprint across.

"Right behind you boss!" Nora grinned and slammed the grenade launchers revolver back in place. Ren opened the door swiftly and the group took off across the green. Ren dived to the side slightly as a large round landed exceedingly close to them. He dived again when another round struck close by, still sprinting. Pyrrha stopped for a moment and fired up at the tower, before continuing the run. A bullet impacted where she stood last. Team JNPR ended up right at tower's entrance. Jaune leaned against and looked up, a bullet ricocheting loudly off the hard cover above them. They made it, the sniper couldn't reach them from here. He gestured for Nora to check the door for traps, as they prepared to enter.

"Okay, so he knows we're here. I think the plan's fairly simple. Once we're in, we're going to go bottom to top and clear the place. Be careful, anyone sane person would set up traps." Nora gave the okay and the door swung open slowly. She had managed to disarm the explosive on the door, which would have blown anyone who kicks open the door sky high. Jaune pushed the door a little more cautiously when he heard a click. The group backed away slightly as two shotguns wired to the door on the other side ripped apart the doors. Auto shotguns, no less. After a few seconds of explosive gunfire, the air smelled of sulfur and dust. Jaune looked inside at the two empty shotguns and gestured for the team to follow.

XxXxXxXxX

Erin noticed too late. Someone had breached her perimeter without her realizing it. She shifted the rifle and leaned over the edge of the clock tower slightly, to get a look. Four people, not old enough to be hunters or huntresses from what it looks like. She scoped in and took pot shots at them. She then realized who she was shooting at. "Oh crap, I recognize them, they're from Beacon..." She ducked back as bullets ricocheted around her, pulling the heavy rifle back. Erin began taking down her rifle and prepping to move. No point in staying there anymore. She heard the shotguns she had rigged up go off in a racket. Erin grabbed the thick rope she had acquired earlier and tied it all up to one side of the tower. Erin secured the rope and grabbed her case, starting her way down. Hopefully the traps she set up would slow them down so she could get down and escape. She hooked herself up to the rappel line and began lowering herself down slowly, trying not to look down that much.

Erin continued to lower herself down...when she almost slipped and caused a small crack. The rock bounced off the window sill of the tower.

XxXxXxXxX

The team had managed to scale half of it. Ren and Nora led the way, as Ren seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to detecting trap and Nora was an explosives expert. Jaune paused and took a breather; climbing the tower was not like going up and down towers at school. The steps were steeper and it seemed a tad -too- rickety for stairs. Ren and Nora had gone a little higher than Jaune and Pyrrha did, as Pyrrha waited up with Jaune.

"These stairs...oh man..."

"I know. It's like a nightma-" Clack. Pyrrha looked up at the window. "Did you hear that?"

"I...what? The clack? It must've just been them disarming something." Jaune brushed it off.

"No. The window...do you see that rope?"

"Yeah? What about it?" Jaune examined the rope that seemed to be swaying slightly. "It's probably just the rain and storm."

"It might b-" Clack. "Okay, that's not right." Jaune looked up, actually hearing it properly this time.

"Hey! We're going back down! We saw something that isn't right!" Jaune called out. He heard an acknowledgement from Nora and the two began racing down the stairs. It certainly didn't take as long to get down, albeit they almost slipped a few times. Pyrrha and Jaune ended up at the front, and they leaned against the wall near the broken doors. They waited for a moment before someone appeared carrying a heavy case. Pyrrha popped out and pointed her rifle at the retreating person.

"Hold it right there!" She called out and clicked the safety on her rifle, ready to fire.

XxXxXxXxX

Erin finished roping down. She had taken precautions to make sure she wouldn't be flung around like a ragdoll on the way down because of the storm. Erin pulled the heavy rifle case off her back and checked it. She pulled out a laminated map and judged her next hiding place. She started moving towards the point.

"Hold it right there!" Erin immediately froze, like a deer caught in headlights. She turned slightly and saw Pyrrha aiming her rifle at her. Jaune had his shield and sword ready, approaching her slowly.

"Who are you and who are you working for?" Jaune called out as he approached carefully. He stopped within grappling range, when Erin twirled around and tried to strike him with the heavy case. Jaune managed to side step the first one, and began blocking the heavy strikes with the case. Pyrrha fired and the case broke, scattering rifle parts all around the pavement. Erin dropped the broken case, flexing her hand from having the case shot out of it.

"Stop, or I will shoot you." Pyrrha asserted. She circled around to get on Erin's side, flanking her.

"...Alright. You win." Erin held up her hands. "I did my job already anyways..." She muttered. Ren and Nora came running out after they cleared the top of the tower.

"Upstairs is all clear. That's definitely where the shooter wa- Oh." Nora stopped her report and looked at Erin being held at gunpoint by Pyrrha. "So you're the one who killed the policemen." Nora turned uncharacteristically dark.

"Wait...aren't you...don't you work at Beacon?" Ren raised an eyebrow curiously. "Why are you working against us?"

"You're right, I do. I'm part of the librarian staff. And...the second part of your question isn't something I can tell you in one sitting." Erin smiled wryly. "So now you've caught me. What now?"

"Now? Now we take you with us to disarm that sarcophagus and save the city." said Pyrrha. Erin shook her head.

"I don't know how to do that. I was hired to shoot, and that's it."

"Well, then you can come with us at least to explain what's going on. We've got too many dead civilians, and none of us are sure why or how. Will you please come with us and talk to us?" Erin stared at Jaune.

"Seriously?" Nora walked over and cheerily lifted Erin and shook her.

"We could always just not ask!" Erin squirmed in Nora's arms, too physically weak to actually get away from the normally hyperactive person. Nora shook Erin some more look a doll, gripping her hard.

"Okay! Okay. Please, let me down." Nora put Erin back down, and the other girl rubbed where she was grabbed gently. "I'll come along...let me just grab my rifle. I can't leave it out here." Pyrrha kept her rifle on Erin as she picked up her stuff. The group began escorting her back through the streets, avoiding conflict with grimm and looters. As they approached the checkpoint, a question came to Ren's mind.

"Wait, was it you who shot Professor Ozpin earlier? You're a capable enough sniper to pull it off."

"I learned that after the fact. You may think I'm lying, but I would never raise my gun against the professor. It's thanks to him I have an actual job that I like after all. I do not know the shooter, but speaking professionally I have to commend him for being able to make a shot on him." This earned her a glare from the rest of team JNPR.

"I see. We should arrange to have her speak to the Professors." said Ren. Jaune nodded in agreement and the team entered the checkpoint. A jubilant Professor Damon greeted them after they returned to the checkpoint. The team hitched a ride on an academy airship heading back to Beacon for more supplies. Jaune felt Pyrrha nudge him slightly, as he was trying to suppress the oncoming illness from the airship.

"Who knew a courier thirteen would lead to such big things?" Pyrrha smiled and rubbed his back gently to help ease his tension. He thought about that for a moment, and she was right. Who knew such chaos and disorder would come from one courier. Who knew they would all be helping stop a plot to destroy Vale?

XxXxXxXxX

Notes:

And that's that for part 9! I might expand some more with side stories, show off other characters that appeared. Other than that, not really much else to say is there? Thanks for reading and following along! Feel free to leave me comments or things that might not make any sense. I'll definitely take them into mind and then get to work rectifying or explaining things.

PS: This is also the part where I shamelessly self-promote another story. I started up recently a companion thing that goes along with Thirteen somewhat. I say somewhat because character names and the like will sometimes be referenced from here. The story, _Another Side's Story_ is a collection of whatifs, alternate universes, one-shots, and other random ideas that come to my head regarding RWBY. For the first few parts/chapters, we'll be taking a trip to if RWBY was in the Wild West. I'd like to note I probably won't update that as regularly, as I want to finish _Thirteen_ first. Remember! Anything that happens in _Another Side's Story_ doesn't necessarily happen in _Thirteen_ and vise versa. If you're into what sorts of random ideas flow through my head that I'm willing to write on, go check it out! Thanks!

_Encyclopedia Entry:_

_Azure Chemical Works. Originally a chemical plant in the industrial sector of the city, the chemical works used to produce all manners of house hold cleaning supplies up till it was shut down several years ago. Now abandoned, the chemical plant is left rusting away, as it's too expensive to update the factory to modern standards and it's just incredibly creepy to be around. Rumors have it that the chemical works are haunted by the ghosts of former employees,, many who died tragic deaths working the vats or machinery to produce the chemicals. It's for this reason, and that many people who had broken into the property experienced paranormal phenomena, people choose to NOT go there. Other dangers outside of potential paranormal activity also includes the place just generally being run down. It's dangerous to move around, and if someone were to go, they should tread carefully. Take down of the building was scheduled for a few months from now._

_Warning: This plant is inactive and extremely dangerous. Some areas (marked with signs) are heavily polluted with toxic air, and a large portion of the original structure is crumbling and falling apart. The general building is rusting and dilapidated, and travelers or spelunkers should avoid going there. _

_Note: There has not been substantive evidence to confirm the plant is indeed paranormal. While there are many reports of it being so, it is truly unknown as to how much of it is paranormal and how much of it is just a hoax._


	17. Part Ten: All Along the Watch Tower (A)

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY and all that jazz. I would like to claim ownership of original ideas though.

Intro Notes: Aha, part 10. Let's get this thing rolling! If things go according to schedule, and I don't write too much, the end is quite literally in sight. I'll be hammering these out quicker as soon as break begins. I finished this before finals week, and since there's a lull in my finals week I figured I should put it up. I would like to say thanks to people who have left me messages regarding the story, and for people liking this story. It's an honor. So, here it is, Part 10: All Along the Watch Tower. Without further interruption, please enjoy!

XxXxXxXxX

**Chapter Three: The End of an Era**

Part 10: All Along the Watch Tower

Side A: Sixth Sense

XxXxXxXxX

Weiss was furious. And here she thought Blake was irresponsible! The group had gotten up a few hours later, still a little groggy. The dark storm clouds still covered the sky, and rain steadily beat down on the city. While the others slept, Yang had managed to sneak out. They could only guess she went to the chemical works without her team. The group readied in record time and ran to the main entrance to catch an airship back.

"How the hell could she do this to us?! After she was all a proponent of keeping us all together! What the heck sense does that make?!" Weiss growled in fury.

"I'm sure she has her reasons." Ruby defended.

"Yeah, and I bet they're all related to being too brash and fast thinking! Especially now it's not a good time to split up!"

"Look,when we find her you can grill and chew her out then, but now? Let's go find her!" Ruby glared at Weiss. Weiss paused and simply nodded, following along.

The front of the school was covered in tents for refugees, and people were working overtime to help the civilians. The three walked through the rain quickly..and bumped into team JNPR.

"Oh, hey guys." Jaune waved. He and Ren was holding onto a girl's arms and escorting her. Pyrrha and Nora stood by as well.

"Hey Jaune, who...do you have there?" Ruby looked at the girl, who smiled back faintly.

"Wait...why are you two pulling Erin along?" Blake looked at the familiar librarian.

"You know her?" Ren raised an eyebrow at Blake.

"She works at the library. Whenever I go I usually see her there. What's going on?" Blake crossed her arms, knowing that her words sounded rather suspicious. Ren relaxed a bit at that.

"She was a sniper that was shooting at police and our school mates. She was protecting something at Midias Towers." Pyrrha glared at the ex-librarian.

"Midias Tower? Didn't Professor Ozpin mention something about one of the sarcophagi being there?" Weiss turned to her team mates. Ruby nodded. "Shouldn't we go shut it down?"

"No, not until we find Yang. Which means we're heading to Azure Chemical Works first." Ruby frowned. "I think...do you think you guys can handle it?" Jaune and the others blinked.

"Yeah...I think we can go get it." Jaune looked at his team, the others nodding. "We'll go get it after we turn her into Professor Ozpin. It'll help us figure out what the whole point of this is. You guys be careful, while we were at the checkpoint we kept hearing that the industrial sector has the worst of it...well, outside of the walls. The sooner we get power on the better."

Jaune and Ren pulled Erin along, with Pyrrha and Nora following behind. Ruby, Weiss, and Blake boarded the airship soon after, cramped between refugee workers and crates of medical and emergency supplies. The airship took off as Ruby looked over the once fair city via the window. The lack of power in the city had really taken its toll. Blazes from around the city caused by arsonists and accidents burned all around the powered down sections of the city. The rain had smothered most of the fires, but the billowing smoke still blackened the sky. The commercial district really lit up like a signal, a point where everyone was concentrating. Ruby had only heard rumors of the death toll, and they were all very grim and bitter rumors. The ship jerked slightly and hovered, switching it's engines to hover. The ship slowly lowered itself into a makeshift landing pad. The group exited first, along with the other passengers. Work crews began moving everything out the supplies as orderlies from the refugee areas gave orders as to what goes where. Ruby pulled on her hood and looked around for any sign of where Yang might have gone. They walked through the brightly lit refugee camp, the streets worth of tents set up to accommodate civilians temporarily.

"As you can see Professor, work is going...not optimally around the commercial district. My orderlies are on overtime trying to get the wounded and injured through the emergency room as fast as possible. Alas, we're also feeling the pain. Just a few hours ago, one of the secretaries told me my surgical crew is short a few people. Short as in they will not be reporting in...ever." The group saw Professor Goodwitch holding an umbrella and carrying the data slate she always had. She was listening to a platinum blonde haired doctor and writing down information. The doctor had a cigarette lit, but didn't seem to be inhaling the smoke. "Communications is also cluttered, if not overtaxed to the point of breaking down. I do not know about the situation at the Academy, but from what a techie has told me the comms can barely hold on. I fear if we do not ask help from our neighbors we will only be able to save the minimal amount of wounded."

"I see. Keep working on it Surgeon Reinhardt. I'll have our communications experts send out another priority S.O.S." The surgeon nodded and wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. The group could see the blood on the gloves...as well as blood on her surgical coat.

"I understand. Good luck with that. I really could use a longer break...four patien-" Surgeon Reinhardt turned around at the call of an orderly in a medical tent. She disposed of the soiled gloves into a biohazard bin and pulled on new ones from her coat pocket. The surgeon began pulling on a surgical hat and mask and left quickly, running into the medical tent.

Professor Goodwitch turned around slightly and began tapping on the data slate. She began stalking off towards the landed airship before noticing team RWBY on the side. "Students? What are you doing here?" Professor Goodwitch walked over.

"Professor, we're looking for someone. Yang. She's gone missing!" Professor Goodwitch's eyes widened, and she adjusted her glasses.

"Miss Xiao Long is missing? When?"

"Earlier this morning. We were supposed to go to Azure Chemical Works together but she mus-"

Professor Goodwitch cut her off immediately, "You were going where now? A few officers have told me that there was heavy fighting in the area even before the city was powered down. Why were you going there?" Professor Goodwitch narrowed her eyes on the group.

"Professor Ozpin gave this to us." Blake pulled out the orders they had gotten from Professor Port. Professor Goodwitch examined the handwriting and validity quickly before speaking again.

"Why are you still here? Professor Ozpin would have wanted you to go immediately. The faster you accomplish that task the better."

"We-we were tired professor! We stopped the one at Crassius Street Market. But that was something else entirel-" Ruby began.

The professor looked at them sharply for a few moments, before saying,"I understand." Professor Goodwitch adjusted her glasses again, looking irritated. "I understand the importance of your task, but with that knowledge that it was you who stopped the events at Crassius Street Market from escalating...I'm changing your orders." Professor Goodwitch tapped a few times to send a message to Professor Ozpin. "The docks are closed down, and we cannot get supplies from the warehouses. We need a path carved into it and secured before the Grimm establish a strong presence there like the Commercial district. Professor Ozpin alerted me that Warehouse D14 is the location of one of the sacrophagi."

"Wait, Professor, is that a wise move? We're still rookies technically." Weiss spoke up for the first time.

"Weiss?" Blake and Ruby turned to look at their partner.

"It's not that I'm worried we can't get it done. I'm worried about our missing partner. I hate to sound selfish but I would rather have someone else secure the warehouse while we go find Yang."

"Yang can handle herself, and she's with Crasher. While I don't think they won't come out unscratched, I know they'll come back alive. Right now...right now I think our priority would be the civilians. Without us helping, they'll die from lack of medical supplies." said Blake. "I...I don't like it either, but that's the truth of it."

"We can't split up the team any more either. It wouldn't be effective and one of us is more likely to get hurt too." Ruby put a hand on her chin, contemplating their options. "But on the other hand...those two could get hurt and I don't want that." Ruby took a moment to think, weighing the options while Blake and Weiss debated.

"We need Yang to finish this. We'd be betraying our teammate if we were to go for the civilians!" Weiss claimed.

"But we're obligated to help the civilians! We can't leave them to die because we chose to save two people over many!" Blake countered.

"So you would prefer to save nameless people and faces, over someone we've grown to know and love as friends?!""

"That's not what I'm saying! I'm saying helping civilians first is more important! I'm not saying we leave them for dead!"

"But we can't do both at the same time! What then?! What if while we're doing something else, they'll get hurt?!"

"I have faith in them! I know they can help each other and I know they'll be fine long enough for us to get our job done!"

"STOP!" Ruby shouted. The other two looked at the younger girl, clearly heated from the debate. "Weiss, I know you're worried about her. I am too. Blake, I know you mean well also. It won't be easy to live with the decision to save a single person instead of a city. And ultimately...I think Blake is right." Weiss opened her mouth to disagree but Ruby held up her hand. "Wait! Hear me out. The faster we get to D14 and get the power back on there, the faster we can get regroup with Yang. I say we go to the docks as fast as we can, clear it out, and then switch as fast as possible." Blake nodded in agreement.

Weiss just glared at the younger girl. "Fine. Let's do it your way then." Ruby nodded and turned to the Professor.

"We accept, we're going to go to D14 first and see what we can do."

"...I can see why Professor Ozpin chose you as a leader." Professor Goodwitch tapped a few times on the data slate. She handed them instructions to get to the warehouse. "Head there and secure it. If possible, deactivate the sarcophagus. While you're pushing in, I'll be organizing hunters and huntresses and moving behind with you, clearing out the streets. You'll be our spearhead, the point that leads the counter attack." Professor Goodwitch gestured for them to go. "Good luck."

Ruby and the others hurried off to the checkpoint. They ran through the crowded streets and moved swiftly between the mass of tents and camps. They had managed to reach the checkpoint fairly quickly and prepared to move into the city, and through to the docks. The guard there handed them a bag of twenty or so dust flares, a few flashlights, and a flare gun with star shells to help illuminate the area. They stepped past the guards after showing them their orders and clearance, and right into a familiar monkey boy.

Sun was carrying a child on his back, as well as several packs of what looked like luggage. He was being followed by a family. "Oh, hey there!"

"Sun? What are you doing out here?" Blake looked at her fellow Faunus. The teen winked at Blake, causing her to turn slightly red.

"Helping out. I couldn't just leave people behind...these people were under attack from some brigands and I did what I could."

The older gentleman of the family stopped and chuckled lightly, stroking his beard. "He has done more than help. He's escorted us all the way from the docks to here without us being detected. What's more he's helped us keep our possessions with us. We owe him our lives."

"Nah, it's not a big deal. Where are you guys going? Don't tell me you're going into that place!"

"We are. We're going to the docks to go turn the power back on so the military and forces could move in and secure it. There are supplies sitting in warehouses that we could use for the civilians." Blake explained.

"Yer joking...alright." Sun gave the child back to her mother and bowed his head politely. "I'm sorry, but our path parts way here. Good luck, and be careful." The family shared their good bye and the old man shook his hand. They gathered up their things that Sun was holding onto and got in line for the checkpoint. Sun waved good bye to the child and jogged to catch up with Ruby and the others. "Alright, D14 right?"

"Wait, you're not going to stay with them?" Weiss eyed the teen carefully.

"You guys are going into the deep of it. There's a lot of Grimm at D14. At least, that's what a dockworker told me. He was at D12 working when everything went whacky." Sun double checked his shotgun staff. "He said he was hiding for a while before he realized the grimm didn't care much about civilians. They cared more about the brigands that are roaming the docks looting and shooting."

"So, any recommended path Sun?" Blake asked. The team continued walking quickly into the darkened city. Lightning cracked overhead, lighting up the streets temporarily. There were small fires and dust flares that lined the roads, giving everything a hellish red glow. A soldier nearby organizing civilians popped a new illumination flare and chucked it into an alleyway to check for predatory grimm.

"Yeah, after here..." He pointed out an avenue that split the docks from the commercial, "No going on the main streets unless you want trouble. Big streets are easy ambush sites. I recommend we either go building hopping, roof jumping, or take the alleyways. I'll lead the way once there if you want."

"That'd be nice. Thanks." Ruby smiled at the tall man. "Let's hurry up. We've got a dock to secure."

The group broke off into a sprint toward the docks.

XxXxXxXxX

"Ah...it seems you brought us a friend..." Professor Ozpin was turned around as team JNPR escorted Erin into his office. "Have a seat young lady. Thank you for bringing her to me. Now I believe you've got another task..."

"Sir...we're uh. Going to go to Midias Towers."

"Go back? I see. Good luck. And stay safe." Team JNPR left the room. He could hear Jaune sigh through the door, saying something about how 'that went well.' Professor Ozpin took a sip from his mug again, before turning to look at the red and black haired lady. He could see equal parts fear and guilt, and a dash of what could only be described as vindication. He took a seat on the chair and stared quietly.

They stared at each other for a few moments. Before Ozpin spoke up and broke the tension, "Your eyes are so soft, and yet I hear you've been quite...the opposite let's say." Erin didn't say anything to the Professor. "I suppose you would rather get to the point no? I would like you to tell me what the meaning of all this is. This is no mere act of terrorism." Erin kept staring at him. "Perhaps you would rather I get Professor Goodwitch to ask you? Very well, I'm sure that riding crop of hers needs a use any-"

"NO!" Erin jumped at the thought, "No please. I'll...I don't know how to make it so you'll understand."

"Ah. Try it anyways. I already know you're with Exodus." Erin's eyes widened in surprise. She had kept careful tabs on who knew her secrets...and it wasn't easy to dig information on her. She made deals with people in the Agency to remove records of her in exchange for a hit list. She also kept no records on a computer...and her paperwork was securely kept at home.

"How could you possibly know that?"

"I'm in charge of Beacon. How can I not?"

"Your information network seems to exceed even that of Junior's." Erin couldn't help but be impressed. "Still, how?"

"Once you look through all the missing paper trails, things add together, or so they would say. I understand that you're working with Exodus...and that those sarcophagi are key to their plans. There would be no reason to hire a capable sniper such as yourself to guard a box...were it simply that. What is the point of it?"

"Would you believe me if I said peace?" Professor Ozpin narrowed his eyes on her.

"...I would. And I would tell you your logic is flawed...and your cause is misguided." Professor Ozpin said. He fit the pieces together and could guess. Freedom through violence. "You want freedom by forcing people's hands and getting it. There is nothing more to it than that. This makes you no better than White Fang...and makes your cause simply a joke."

"It's not a joke!' Erin burst out. "When they figured out we could use the sarcophagi to control dust we figured out how to be like gods! But we focused on something better than god-hood, something better than simply taking over the world! We wanted freedom. Exodus has stood for that since the beginning, and people only see what they've painted us to be: radical, violent murderers that want nothing more than the blood of their children to be spilled in the name of some dark god. You all paint us like cultists worshipping some blood god, but we're more than that." Erin almost shouted at him. "But we're not. And we're doing work. Every time we act, something big changes! There's a monumental shift in thought! You know it to be true! It's true in history, and it's true now!"

"I admit that may be the case, but what about all the other failures? What about all the times you spilled blood for your cause, and all that happened was the loss of freedom? Might I remind you of the Patriot's Law? What level of civil liberty did you destroy by causing those in charge to destroy liberty? Miss Maxswel, you need to realize what you're doing isn't for the good of man all the time. Especially now. There is blood on your hands. Real blood from the people you killed, as well as the non-physical blood of the innocents here."

"I readied myself for that."

"Then you're no longer human."

"But I am! I am still human. But I know myself that the ends justify the means!"

"That is when you treat people as ends in themselves. And even then the ends never truly justifies what you did. I must ask you, do you know your means? And do you know what they lead to?" Professor Ozpin kept his cool, his tone never raising nor lowering.

"Yes I do! The boxes were a part of the plan. You should already know this but we set this up to redeem our group in a sense! People don't trust us, and they fear us. For what reason other than the lies your media tells them." Erin stood up, crossed her arms and looked down. "The boxes were supposed to be used, so it causes chaos. And since we engineered the boxes, we could come in and disable them and then be heroes and clear out the city. I think even now people are being sent in from base..."

"I see...then how do you disable the boxes?"

Erin shook her head, "I wasn't a part of that. I was organizing things at the school library when they were discussing that. So I don't have an idea of how to turn it off. Though, I can't imagine it would be as hard as ripping out a few wires and taking out the source of po-" there was a knocking at the door. A man in an orange utility jumpsuit walked in, causing the two to look up and around at him.

"It seems you talk too much when your buttons are pressed Maxswel. Your grandfather wouldn't be too proud of that." He raised a pistol and pulled the trigger several times. The mysterious man shot her three times, twice in the chest and once in the arm. Erin fell back from the impact, surprised. The man turned his gun on the Professor. "And you escaped death last time Professor. I do not think that luck will hol-" The man was about to finish when the Professor cut him down with his cane sword. The utility worker sleeper agent crumpled onto the floor, dead from the diagonal slash.

"I believe otherwise." He walked over to check on Erin, who was still alive miraculously, but bleeding out. "It seems we'll have to continue the line of questioning later." The Professor sent out a message to Professor Goodwitch and the infirmary. He then carried the light girl to the infirmary. "And this is why you shouldn't believe in causes where the ends justify the means. You become nothing more than a cog in the means."

XxXxXxXxX

The wall had fallen. Private Jordan Pile knew it. He didn't sign up for the army to die like this. He clutched his clawed out side. The bleeding was contained, at least he hoped. The flood gate of grimm opened up when everything around them suddenly shut down. They had seen the lattice work and beams, but they had no idea what they did. It was only too late that they realized their dust equipment wasn't working. He had been with a gunnery crew that would shoot down flying grimm that would approach too close, but when everything powered down their gun became useless. They held for a solid hour, he had guessed. But then the wall's machine guns ran dry. They didn't have nearly enough belts for all the guns at the same time. Jordan was thankful that the bodies at least disappeared into the wind after a grimm was killed. His commanding officer laughed and said that would have been even worse for moral; that is, if they had to smell the bodies. Jordan looked around the rest of the wall. Several Nevermore feathers were nailed to the one majestic wall, some pinning unfortunate men to their post permanently. When the wall had run dry, the grimm came over the walls and tore people apart.

"We've got another live on here!" He heard someone shout. He turned his head and saw a combat medic running toward him. "Holy hell Jordan, here, lemme check it out."

Jordan coughed harshly, "I don't think it's any good. What's the rest of the wall look like?" The combat medic began applying bandages and stuff to him. "That is, if theres a rest of the wall left Kerry."

"There is. A captain so and so is organizing things near the commercial district. We're working on retaking the walls, but we can only move so quickly through a tight area." The medic secured the bandage on and stuck him with a syrette full of morphine. Jordan winced, beginning to lose the pain. Kerry dragged Jordan's arm onto his shoulder, picking him up slowly.

"Ugh, I can't believe I got lucky..."

"Consider yourself blessed I guess. Com'on. I'll get you back." A small squad ran over to assist and cover them. Jordan heard one of the men armed with a Thumper fire a grenade off somewhere. "You'll be alright. Don't worry."

"I'm not so much worried about surviving, I'm just worried about the rest of my squad. The gunnery team at A-Six." Kerry stopped and looked at his buddy. "I ran to try and get more ammo for our guns, but then I got decked by a beowolf that had gotten over."

"I'm sorry...we were at Gunnery A-Six earlier. Everyone's gone." Jordan couldn't say anything and resolved to let the men carry him. His entire squad, taken out by grimm. No amount of training seemed to have prepared them for the slaughter. It had become an endless meat grinder.

Yeah. He definitely didn't sign up for this.

XxXxXxXxX

All along the wall, there was movement. Soldiers trying to secure the wall to stop the flow of the grimm while the same grimm pushed over the walls and flooded into the nearby areas. The residential sector had it the worst, being right near the wall the Faustus Boxes had disabled. The soldiers were fighting a boot slogging battle, not getting any further and yet not losing ground. For every human casualty, they took out scores of Grimm. They had brief breaks every so often, but even then they were short and bitter.

In the sectors below the base, the national guard armory was in over time. It's storage was opened and soldiers were carting materials for the wall to the battlefront. A few armored vehicles, mostly repurposed armored cars, were further modified to carry supplies and act as field ambulances. Guards were on over time at the base, to prevent the gangs of marauding looters. Rumors had reached the refugee camp that in the span of the entire assault that the armory and military base had been hit at least four times by separate gangs.

The refugee workers were also struggling to keep up with the influx of refugees. While the main bulk had been admitted, there were still lines of people trying to get through the barricade. While Beacon Academy was also ferrying refugees to use their grounds as camps, as well as having lower classmen assist at these camps, the burden was incredible. There was a lack of food, shelter, and warm clothing to weather the storm out. It had also gotten bad for the medical area. The camps were filled with wounded refugees, and EMTs were practically sprinting through the rain to carry people back on stretchers. They couldn't use their ambulances in such a cramped environment, so they had to ferry wounded to the medical tents. The doctors at the refugee medical tents seemed to be universally jacked up on coffee. Medical professionals ran around trying to service and save everyone. They were running dangerously low on medicine to help people, and a few people could hear doctors worried about standard diseases and sickness that would arise in such a crowd.

The hospital was pulling its weight as well. The large complex was already admitting more people than before, and it's staff going all in. The administration had already cracked open the backup storage of medical supplies to supplement what was already on hand. While stocked for an emergency, they are starting to feel the lack specific medicine to treat infections as well as stop bleeding. Bandages and medical salves at the hospital were almost to the level where they would need to begin rationing.

For the most part, the people still alive in the city needed one thing: it needed the docks back. Stores of useful material, supplies, and ammunition was sitting at the harbor warehouse. In addition, opening the docks would allow foreign ships an easier time to get in and resupply the besieged survivors.

XxXxXxXxX

Team RWBY and Sun made their way through the alleys and side streets, avoiding the main roads. They could hear the growls of grimm echoing the city, with sporadic gunfire and shouting in the distance. Sun was struggling with a window while the team waited in an alley way.

"How is it coming along?" Blake asked as she kept her sword ready. Sun was struggling to pick the lock.

"It's goin' good. I'm a great lock pick, I swear. It's just this window is jammed."

"May I have a try? We're running behind schedule after all." Sun turned and looked at Blake, almost hurt.

"I'll have it open in a second! Trust me."

"Right..." Blake turned around to keep watch with Ruby and Weiss when they heard a smash and click. The three turned around to see Sun with the window open, the glass conspicuously broken. "Well, that's one way to get it open." She caught the lock pick she had lent Sun. The monkey boy grinned and gestured for them to follow in. He pulled them up and into the building. The group continued moving through the apartment blocks near the docks. After climbing a few stairs, they leaned against the wall and looked out the window carefully. The shortcut they had taken bypassed many of the dangerous elements in the area, and led them straight to the warehouse section. Blake pointed to a warehouse with D14 stenciled in white onto the wall. "That looks like it."

"Wait, what's wrong with the streets? Do you guys see what I'm seeing?" Weiss pointed out to some strange shapes moving around near the "floor." It was incredibly dark, and it seemed impossible to see the floor.

"The weird mist? Yeah I see it. What's going on with that?" Ruby leaned a bit more to see. The fog looked...unnatural to say the least. "Here, lemme throw a flare..." Ruby opened the window slightly. She popped a smoking red flare and threw it onto the streets. The red flare sizzled and dropped into the miasma...and disappeared. The darkness beneath them seemingly swallowed the flare, and the fog around it turned a slight red shade.

"...That didn't really help." Sun pointed out obviously. "How about we just...jump it. That mist stuff looks dodgy."

"I doubt it's dangerous...it's just we can't see anything." Blake kept watch, looking for any movement in the miasma. Lightning cracked overhead again and she noticed a light shift in the miasma. "I'm surprised the rain hasn't dispersed it yet."

"So shall we jump it? I see something moving around down there. I'd rather we not tangle with it." Sun asked again, moving away from the windows and toward the stairs.

"Yeah, fine. Let's just jump it and hope whatever it is down there doesn't notice us." Weiss pulled away from the window along with Ruby. The group moved up the stairs and climbed to the roof of the apartment block. Sun shoved the door opened, the heavy metal creaking loudly as he slid it open. Everyone filed out to check the rooftops for any danger. Blake walked over to the ledge of the apartment block. The warehouse was across a large avenue.

"Two at a time. Ruby and I can go first." Blake readied her ribbons. Ruby cocked her rifle and twirled her scythe, setting it down to prepare to take off. "Go!" Blake ran and leapt, hooking and swinging off a lamp post on the middle. She flew through the air and landed on the warehouse, rolling to a halt on one knee. Ruby fired her rifle and went flying over the avenue, landing with ease on the roof. Sun and Weiss jumped over soon afterward. The group gathered around a square sun roof opening with a cover on it. Ruby sliced into the sheet metal and Sun pulled it open, revealing the darkness inside to them.

"Let's get some light down there..." Ruby handed out the flashlights and then popped a few flares, throwing them around the hanger. It appeared the miasma was there as well, but it certainly was not as high as the area surrounding them. Ruby's third flare bounced off something...and revealed to them the sarcophagus. The lid was open and a few dead looters were laying around it, horrible mauled from the looks of it. There were claw marks that told the tale of their demise. The sarcophagus was leaking the miasma at a steady rate, odd all things considered. "uh...what's with the leaky stuff?"

"It appears that is the source of the fog. Disabling the box should clear it up." Blake hooked onto the edge with her weapon and threw the ribbon down. "Hm...I've got a bad feeling about this."

"I volunteer to go first." Sun raised his hand. "No need for you all to get in danger so quickly. Besides, you ladies can pull my tail out of the fire if I need it right?" Sun smirked and picked up the ribbon, adjusting himself over the edge to fast rope down.

"Aha, no. I don't think so monkey boy." Weiss interjected and grabbed the rope. "Ruby and I will go first." Weiss checked the strength of the rope and slid down, leaving Sun blushing at the implications. Ruby soon followed after and they both shined their flashlights around the room. The room was mostly darkened out, save for the glow of the red flares. Ruby added another two flares, one at the "front" end of the room and another at the "back" end of the room. There were many crates and whatnot stacked on each other. The boxes were unlabeled, so they couldn't tell what was inside it. Ruby gave a thumbs up and Blake and Sun dropped down. The group circled around the sarcophagus...examining it carefully. It was indeed leaking the thick miasma, but how and why?

Then the heard several loud growls.

XxXxXxXxX

Notes:

Annnnd CLIFF. Ties into B quite smoothly, since I realize that this chapter was starting to get a little long winded. Hopefully these chapters are digestible like episodes. I acknowledge they're long, but hey, that''s not too bad right? Also, for anyone wondering why Professor Goodwitch didn't send a more experienced team out: PLOT! Thanks for reading and I'd appreciate any feedback.

PS: To anyone wondering "Where's Welkin and Yang?! Aren't they important to the story?!" They're coming up, I assure you. Just...not yet. I'll leave what's happening up to your imagination for now.

_Encyclopedia Entry:_

_Solus International Hospital. This hospital, a large sprawling complex with numerous tall buildings, was founded ages ago originally as a shelter for the sick and needy. Donations, and eventually private ownership, eventually forged it into the incredible multi-building system of a hospital. Obtained it's name from Doctor Morgan Solus, the founder of the international medical school section of the hospital. The hospital features some of the best doctors around, with more in constant training. Fully staffed and holds roughly six-hundred beds, the medical facility is primed to accept untold numbers of patients. That being said, it's never truly in full operation, as that's too cost prohibitive. The hospital also includes a huge emergency room, with a full staff almost around the clock to administer to the wounded. The hospital is capable of producing limited amounts of medicine and simple medical supplies, and has immense stores for holding surplus supplies. Optimally, it should never exceed a set limit of patients, as the bureaucratic arm of the hospital cannot keep up with the number of patients. Another noteworthy thing of the hospital is that it contains a fair sized research facility for experimental treatments. Occasionally a report makes it sound like tests there are inhumane, but no hard evidence has ever been pulled from it. The hospital is more worried for a patients care, than being paid, and thus the income methods generally tend to be donations or government funding. Noteworthy graduates and physicians from here include: Head Surgeon Fenris Ilyana Reinhardt, Doctor Desmund LeBlanc, and Director of Nursing Talos Schafer. _

_Note: Acceptance to the hospital is an extremely rigorous process that truly challenges interns and potential employees. Their standards are much higher than the bar, and they only accept the best of the best. One thing that stands out among them is the fact the bureaucratic arm of the hospital -will- discharge doctors that to not meet their professional standards (IE: Being rude to patients, not truly caring about helping people, working only for profit instead of being a good person.) It takes years to train to be anything, the longest being surgeon which has students starting at around sixteen. The main drawback of this medical school compared to others is that it does not provide a full all around education with math and physics (unless necessary,) and is focused on the medicine and application of medicine._


	18. Part Ten: All Along the Watch Tower (B)

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY and all that jazz. I'd like to claim ownership of original things though.

Intro Notes: Well happy holidays guys. I thought I'd get more done but it turns out having a lot of things to do means I have less time to write. That being said this project isn't dead. Being on break has slowed me down because I have begun so much other stuff. I'm planning on updating Another Side's Story soon. Probably with a string of chapters since I've been writing side things. I've started experimenting in other subjects outside of action and adventure. For example, recently I've caught a horror bug of some kind. I suspect there will also be a few chapters involving the holidays and New Year. Look out for those (and hopefully I get off my ass and actually put em out.)

Anyways, welcome to Side B! Have a Little Faith! Let's dish out some action eh?

XxXxXxXxX

**Chapter Three: The End of an Era**

Part 10: All Along the Watch Tower

Side B: Have a Little Faith

XxXxXxXxX

Ruby cocked her scythe and looked around the room, searching for the source of the growl. The fog was making it hard to see, even with all the flares that lit the room. The group circled around the box, watching each other's back. They heard some more growling and Blake and Sun turned their attention to a darkened area of the aircraft hanger sized warehouse. Sun shined a flashlight on it, and the light only disappeared into darkness...or at least what seemed to be darkness. The shadow Sun created moved immediately, and Sun tried his best to keep tracking it. He called out for them to look out in that direction. Ruby fired at the moving shadow, the muzzle flash illuminating the room and punching holes into the thin metal of the warehouse walls. Almost every shot missed, but one managed to score a hit on the creature and caused it to howl in anger. Weiss took this time and threw a flare at the moving shadows, the glowing red stick bouncing off the fur of the thing. The group finally got a good look at what the beast was.

It was clear it had once been an ursa. The size and stature of it gave that much of it away. The mutant had the body of an ursa...but something had caused it to grow to nearly three times the size. Spikes jutted out of its back, the glow giving it an almost blood soaked sheen. They had expected it to have the head of an ursa...but the mutation had shifted it to some disfigured beast head, looking like a menacing beowolf head. In addition the arms had retained length similar to that of beowolf arms, long and far reaching, and armed with razor sharp claws. The beast howled before they could get a further inspection and charged at them, swinging its arms wildly. The group all separated from each other, rolling away from the slashing attack. Sun ducked under the arms and fired twice with his shotguns before rolling away. The pellets embedded themselves into the beast...but did not slow it down at all. The monstrous creature swept again at the teen, but Sun simply flipped away from it.

Ruby ran behind it and slammed her scythe into the ground, firing rapidly at the beast's back. The bullets sunk into the beast, but it simply shrugged off the rounds. The group heard additional growls and thumping from over head. Ruby looked up and rolled out of the way as a large beowolf, what seemed like an Alpha, landed heavily where she once stood. Ruby fired several times and sent herself flying, giving herself some space away from the alpha. "We need some more light!" Ruby called out to her team.

"On it!" Blake had hooked onto an overhanging I beam, swinging herself up there with her ribbon. She landed carefully on the beam and used a spare ribbon to secure a bright flashlight onto her beam. Blake also took out the pack of flares she had taken from Ruby earlier and lit a few, swinging to several parts of the room to place them around. The red glow illuminated more of the room. Blake was swinging to another part of the room when a beowolf from above intercepted her, spiking her toward the ground. She rotated herself and landed on her feet, holding onto the now bleeding side. "Those flares are only good for three minutes! We'll run out if we don't do this fast enough!"

"Blake! Are you alright?" Sun swatted a beowolf charging at her from behind away with his stick. He fired several times and turned to look at Blake. She nodded at him and pulled the ribbon back from the ceiling. "Need anything? A bandage maybe?"

"Maybe later, right now we have to focus!" Blake switched to her pistol and shot two beowolves charging. The alpha leaped over head and tried to pounce on the two. Blake and Sun rolled away as the heavy beast landed. Right then Weiss flicked her wrist, pointing at the alpha, and a magic circle appeared underneath it. Weiss flicked her rapier again and the ground around it froze, freezing the beowolf in its place. The beast howled and struggled to break free from the magic ice. Weiss jumped and reared her rapier back for her finale, the magic cylinder clicking into place and starting to glow.

"Watch out!" Ruby cried as the mutant struck her guard and sent her sailing through the air. The two collided and bounced off to the side. The mutant howled at the two of them, almost as if challenging them to a fight.

"Get off me!" Weiss pushed a slightly dazed Ruby off her. The red cloaked girl rolled off her ally and back onto her feet. They readied themselves for the charging beast yet again.

Meanwhile Blake and Sun were unloading all they could onto the alpha, occasionally breaking away to deal with a pesky minion. Sun twirled his staff and slammed it down, sending a shock wave to give the two some space from the beowolves. Blake had sprang onto the Alpha's back and began hacking away at it, her blade sinking deep gashes into the unprotected hide. The alpha reeled forward slightly, before breaking free of the ice. The beast shifted itself and then swept around, bringing both speed and power into trying to strike Blake. The claws met their target, but did no damage as the claws disappeared through the illusion. The illusion stuck it's tongue out at it, taunting the beast. It roared and swept again at the illusion, unaware of where Blake truly was. Sun took the opportunity to leap and bring down his staff on its head. The metal rod made a heavy thunk sound on it, and the beast seemed to reel somewhat from the blow. The alpha swung his right claw at Sun, who parried it but was sent reeling back from the force.

"I got an idea! Blake pass me a flare!" Blake threw Sun one of the four remaining flares and the two readied to attack the alpha again. I howled and charged at the two, clawing at them violently. The two were much too fast for it to strike however, and his claws met thin air. Blake threw her pistol with the ribbon attached to it and bound the alpha beowolf down, right when Sun landed on its head. The monkey boy popped the flare and jammed it into the eye of the beast, causing it to howl in anger. Sun was about to slam the flare into the other eye with the flare when the beast shook him off. He rolled away on the floor as Blake covered him with fire. The beast charged blindly at the two.

Weiss and Ruby dived out of the way again as the mutant bowled into them. The mutant rammed into the wall, denting its shape into the sheet metal. Weiss flicked and froze the beast to the wall as Ruby tried to slam the scythe into its neck. Ruby fired her rifle, hoping to decapitate the freak of nature. The scythe roared...but the scythe simply slipped over it, leaving light cut on its neck. Ruby leapt and tried again, slamming the scythe into the neck yet again, but the beast turned and freed itself from the ice. The mutant punched Ruby away and pulled itself out of the frost. Ruby bounced and flipped back onto her feet, sliding. Weiss regrouped with Ruby.

"That skin is thicker than it looks." Weiss pointed out.

"That's a first. Ow...that really hurt." Ruby shifted her stance yet again. Ruby cocked her rifle scythe and switched her magazine for more high power rounds. "We need a better plan than just reacting to the swings. Ruby looked around, when her sight caught that of a heavy i beam illuminated by a flare. The flare was starting to fizzle, entering its next stage of life. Ruby pointed up, "Freeze him and we'll drop that on him! Then we hit him at the same time!"

Weiss casted another freezing spell and locked it down. Ruby aimed her scythe and fired several times, causing the heavy metal beam to fall. The beam slammed down on the mutant, dazing it and stunning it in place. The beam caused a heavy crack to sound as if the skull was smashed, and then bounced aside. Weiss flicked her wrist again and locked down it's limbs, causing it to growl in anger and struggle. "Go for the neck!" Weiss nodded at Ruby and leapt, the rapier's cylinder clicking into place. Weiss leapt and reared back her arm for the blow, and then swept past the mutant faster than a bullet. The heavy, magic infused thrust left a incredibly deep gash in the neck, causing it to roar in pain. Ruby followed up and leapt on its shoulder, wrapping the blade portion of her scythe around the severely damaged neck. Ruby fired several times, digging the blade deeper and deeper into the grave wound. With one last click of the trigger, the scythe cleaved the mutant's head clean off, and Ruby flipped back away next to Weiss triumphant. "Well done."

Weiss looked at Ruby and smirked, who smiled back. "It's probably the skirt." Weiss uncharacteristically laughed.

"Of course." Weiss high fived Ruby.

Blake and Sun rolled out of the way as the beast yet again slammed into the wall. The alpha beowolf howled and sent three of the lesser wolves at them. Sun twirled his staff and batted one into the air before slamming it back down while Blake leapt over one and bisected it from behind. Sun swung his staff and tripped the last beowolf before batting it away again. The alpha howled and turned, jumping into the shadows. Sun and Blake moved closer to a flare, hoping the bright light would make it harder for the sensitive night sight of the beowolf. "He's blind in one eye, we need to get on his blind spot." Sun nodded.

"I'll get his attention and you move in from the side. We'll just take turns hitting him until he's de-!" The two dove away from the flare as the large alpha landed where they were, taking wild swipes. It howled and turned its attention towards Blake, running at her. "I don't think the doggy likes cats!"

"Shut up!" Blake hissed and dove under the beowolf's arms, running to get some distance. The wolf turned around and chased after her on all fours. It failed to notice Sun approaching his blinded side. Sun jumped and flying kicked the alpha into several metal crates. The alpha struggled under the heavy boxes and pulled itself up, panting, but still very willing to fight. It had lost its pack in the fight however. It raised its muzzle and howled, preparing to charge at the teen...when Blake's blade went through its throat. The wolf made a confused sound, and dropped dead when Blake pulled the blade out and carved into its back, making deep gashes with each slash. The alpha fell forward dead, and the bodies of the grimm disappeared into the thick miasma.

"Nice." Sun could only say. "Still don't want that bandage?"

"I'll be fine. Thanks for the help Sun."

"Any time. Lemme know and we'll do it again. How about an Ursa next time? I heard their pelt is pretty good for a throw rug." Sun joked as the two made their way back to the sarcophagus. Blake smirked, and the two regrouped with Ruby and Weiss.

"Well that was rough. Are you two okay?" Ruby asked. Blake and Sun nodded. "So...now how do we turn this thing off...?"

"Is there a plug we can pull?" Sun asked, leaning over the box. Weiss and Ruby pulled the cover off like Welkin had kicked off earlier. The group examined the innards of the sarcophagus. Unlike the other sarcophagus, it was not making any whirring or heavy mechanical noises. Rather, it was simply humming while leaking the miasma. "Or maybe we could just take out the battery."

'That's how we broke it last time. Umm...let's see if there's a power supply box inside it. Ruby shined a flashlight into the box to take a look around. She moved through some of the heavy wiring. The box seemed unnaturally innert.

"Maybe we can't actually turn it off anymore? Like maybe it's a one use kind of thing?" Weiss crossed her arms.

"Oh, here we go." Ruby blew into the box and dispersed some of the smoke inside it. She shined her light on a yellow marker that read PSU. "Alright last time I think it zapped Welkin when we touched it. So let's be careful about this." The group stepped back. "And use this instead!" Ruby whipped out her scythe and slammed the head into the power box. The box crackled loudly and sparked as the blade sunk into the supply unit...and did nothing.

"...I don't think that's how it works." Ruby rubbed the back of her head, whole holding the scythe. Blake knelt down next to the sarcophagus and looked around some more, ignoring the now sparking PSU box. "Let's find that crystal. Remember he held up a blackish crystal. Perhaps if we remove that it'll stop it from functioning." Blake peeled open the cracked PSU lid carefully, making sure not to zap herself.

The lid popped open after some prying, revealing a tangled mess of broken wires and damaged plugs. Blake moved things around with one of the shotguns she had borrowed from Sun, looking for the core of the PSU. "Found it. Let me just pull it out." Blake reached in and pulled out a humming gray crystal wrapped in assorted wires. She could feel her hair rising on her from the power on the crystal, making her uncomfortable. Weiss severed the crystal from the sarcophagus with her rapier. The crystal shifted from gray into the original blackish color, powering down; Blake immediately felt better holding onto the crystal. However, despite removing the power supply...there seemed to be no change in the sarcophagus.

"Maybe we should mess with the switches? Or just start pulling everything out?" Sun rubbed the back of his head.

"You know, that's not actually a bad idea." Blake leant back over to look around for anything to unplug.

"I don't know, unplugging things haphazardly doesn't sound like it'll be safe." Thud. Blake ended on up on her rear holding up a cable. The machine started whirring again, oddly enough, and started glowing white. "Whoa, okay, that's not a good thing. That sounds like it's going to explode on us!" The machine started humming louder and went into over drive, the gears and whatnot clacking loudly. The team turned and bolted for the door, kicking it wide open. They sprinted through the rain and the miasma away from the warehouse and dropped down onto the wooden loading docks near the warehouse. The ware house exploded with a massive bang, lighting up the night sky and showering the area with dust and debris. The miasma that fogged the area disappitated around the area, the shockwave from the blast clearing it away.

"Well." Ruby dusted her hair off from the dust. "That worked!"

Weiss coughed a bit, "Yes, yes it did. Though did it HAVE to explode?"

"Hey, all cool things have to explode at one point." Sun grinned and dusted himself off, his tail swinging about idly. "Though is that what you guys came to do? Blow it up?" As if answering his question, the lights in the area began flickering on. Assorted streetlamps began illuminating the dark avenues and somewhat foggy areas. Although dim, the power was back on in the area, which meant operations could begin to reclaim the warehouses.

"Awesome! We did it!" Ruby jumped and cheered gleefully. "Mark another hard mission for team RWBY as complete!"

"Yes. Well done everyone. Now let's not wait. We have to eat to Azure Chemical Works now." Blake reloaded her handgun.

"Wait, why are you guys going to the industrial sector too?" Sun asked.

"We're going to go save Yang. No doubt she's probably gotten herself in trouble." Weiss crossed her arms. "We should move now."

'You're more than welcome to come if you're interested, Sun." Blake turned as the other two began moving toward the industrial area.

"I'm in. I can't leave you guys hanging now that I'm with you all so far in right?" Sun twirled his staff and put it on his back. Blake nodded and gestured for him to follow along as they moved to the industrial sector.

XxXxXxXxX

Torchwick was pissed, and that was an understatement. He had expected things to go as planned, but someone had sabotaged their airships. Upon taking off, an engine on each of the airships they were using disabled themselves. The damage was not horrible per say, but it was enough to delay them quite a lot. It did not matter now though, the army of Exodus was on the move now. Engineering teams had managed to fix most of the airships they were using, and there were enough fixed to go through with the operation. Unfortunately, the sarcophagus was a double edged sword. He was not able to communicate with his agents in the city...so he was just as blind as everyone else as to what was happening. Torchwick looked out the window on the side, taking in the site of the burning city. He smiled with delight, things were actually going well. The airships moved in closer and he got a better view of the docks.

His smile immediately dropped when he noticed the lights were back on.

No one could have done it, none of them at least...and the plebians living in the city were probably too scared to...unless.

"Double time it! GET US TO LAND NOW!" Torchwick barked at the pilot. The pilot flinched.

"But sir! The storm, it's not safe to go faster than we a-"

"Shut up and do it!"

The pilot nodded and gunned the engine, pushing the airship faster through the heavy winds. The turbulence became incredibly severe, and Torchwick could hear the creaking of the metal being stressed by force and wind. They needed to get down there, and FAST.

XxXxXxXxX

The united force of hunters, police, and military forces pushed in after Professor Goodwitch received word from team RWBY that the docks were now repowered. The now lit roads provided the much needed illumination to secure the docks. Roaming brigands were brought to justice by the organized armed force, while the hunters worked on scouring the docks. The joint effort managed to clear out the main avenues, and workers began convoys to get supplies from the warehouses to the commercial district. The refugee camp was also expanded, allowing more citizens to be put inside.

However, the roads remained shut and supplies remained inside the warehouses. The sudden appearance of Exodus halted the plans Professor Goodwitch had in mind. Exodus, having arrived before the hunters and military personnel did, were already present and dug in at the docks and warehouses. While appearing cordial and anonymous at first, conflict broke out when detectives arrived on scene to investigate. After revealing the force as Exodus, a pitched battle erupted between forces. This did not bode well for their other forces.

In other areas, Exodus landed and began their operations. To refugees, they were angels sent from god. In the residential sector, the operators had begun relief efforts to stem the tide of grimm. Compared to the docks, these cells did not meet any armed forces or police. Thus, they were heralded by the general population as saviors. This contributed to the rising problem of: just who's side were these bastards on? On one hand people are calling them saviors, but on the other hand the military is actively engaging them.

The rainstorm continued overhead, heavy winds blowing through the city. While the rain was beginning to slow to a light drizzle, the storm clouds did not appear to have any intention of disappearing for a while.

XxXxXxXxX

Team JNPR moved through the residential area, going back to Midias Towers. They were delayed a few times by grimm, but they were still moving at the least. Jaune took a breather and leaned against the wall. They were tired from several small fights and running. He thought to himself, 'What I would give for a nap...or a break.'

"Almost there. We'll get there and turn it off so we can get the wall back online." Jaune looked at the rest of his team. They were starting to look a tad bit ragged. He waved his hand forward and the team continued weaving through the buildings. "I'm starting to regret not going for the box immediately after we caught Erin."

"Perhaps we could have, but our priority at the time was getting the sniper. Would it have been possible to watch out for her and the grimm at the same time?" Ren loaded a new magazine into his machine pistols.

"I think so? Maybe we were too hasty in bringing her back?" Jaune stretched his tired shoulder, "It would have saved us all the second trip huh?"

"Yes. But there's no point in dwelling on it now. We have to go now. We managed to stop the sniper and now we're going to go finish the job." Ren put a hand on Jaune's shoulder.

"Besides, we're probably getting more information from her than we would if we had tried to go for the box first. Like who's pulling the strings!" Nora grinned at the two and checked the window. Pyrrha had returned to the living room from scouting.

"There's that too. We need to keep moving. We're almost the-" Ren was about to finish his sentence when the lights in the buildings came back on.

"Hey! Who turned on all the lights!?" Nora looked around surprised, somewhat dazed from the sudden burst of bright light. The team had been using flares and flashlights to navigate through the dark. Jaune shook his head and blinked rapidly a few times, his eyes adjusting to the sudden light.

"The box! Someone must have disabled it! We have to go now!" Pyrrha gestured for them. The heavy rain they moved through earlier had lightened up into a sprinkle. Team JNPR picked up their gear and ran. They weaved through a few more buildings when they came upon their original target: Midias Towers. That's when they noticed the armored men patrolling the area.

"Hang on, who are they?" Ren held Jaune back before he ran out to greet them.

"Dunno, they look like police though. We should go find out what they're doing."

"They're not marked...which means they're probably independent. We should tread carefully. They may be brigands."

"Alright, so here's what we'll do. Pyrrha and Ren, stay here and cover us in case something goes wrong. Nora and I will go out there and talk to them. No need for them to know there's actually four of us." Ren and Pyrrha nodded, moving to the windows upstairs. Nora cracked her knuckles and grinned, following Jaune outside. The pair approached the men, and he could hear them talking.

"Box is secure. Power's back on. Let Torchwick know that things are going smoothly over here. No hunter or military presence. Exodus can continue operating in the area." The smaller man reported to a taller one.

"Alright. We're helping civvies along as we go, so our orders still stand. I don't know how they expect us to convince everyone who's paranoid about us that we're good guys."

"Yeah well, we're doing good now. Sure we might have started it, but we're proving we can get shit do-" Jaune stepped on a bottle by accident. The two men turned around and raised their weapons at the pair. "Hey! What are you doing here?"

"We're just checking out what's going on around here, we're not causing any problems!" Nora smiled cheerfully at the masked man.

"You were eaves dropping weren't you?" The bigger man pointed his machete at her.

"Well you guys were talking really loudly to begin with..." The two looked at each other.

"Alright you kids are going to come with us. We can't let anyone know what we just said." They started approaching Jaune and Nora. Jaune took a step back and put his hand on his sword.

"Look, we don't want any trouble. We're here to go check that box and make sure it's offline."

"What box? Damned kids finding out too much for their own good nowadays. GET EM!" The big man charged at Jaune, who drew his sword finally. The big soldier swung his sword at the teenager, who deflected the blow with his shield. The smaller man tried to jump strike Nora, who was promptly slammed away with her hammer. The noise caught the attention of the other six members of the cell, and they came running over to surround the pair.

Jaune readied his shield, examining his foes' weapons. They were armed lightly; one handed steel batons with nothing else to back them up. He backed up slightly, watching the circle carefully. "With me." Nora nodded. Jaune lifted his shield and took a deep breath, and then charged into the circle, back toward the buildings where Pyrrha and Ren waited. He punted a man out of the way with his shield and Nora kicked another away. They sprinted toward the wall as the surprised men turned to chase. The Exodus cell took about five steps before Pyrrha and Ren tore into them. A hail of bullets rained down on the cell, downing three of them and wounding a fourth. Nora twirled around and shot a grenade into the survivors. The blast sent them rolling away, unconscious.

Pyrrha and Ren jumped out the window and rolled next to Jaune, who put his shield and sword away. "Thanks." He stretched his arm.

"You're welcome. Are you okay?" Nora and Jaune nodded, and Jaune gestured for them to move into the tower's base. The team looked around for more Exodus agents before approaching the deactivated sarcophagus. "So it is off...we should make sure it doesn't come back on ever again." Pyrrha leaned over the sarcophagus.

"Nora? Would you kindly?" The rest of them took a step back. Nora grinned and lifted her hammer.

"Of course!" She slammed the grenade hammer into the box and blew the internals away. The power inside the sarcophagus exploded and sent her soaring away. Nora sailed past the group grinning widely, smoking from the blast. Ren walked over and pulled the girl onto her feet, dusting her off gently. "That was fun!"

Ren sighed and shook his head slightly. "Okay, where do we go now?"

"We're going to head back to the camp and figure out what else is needed to do. I'm sure Professor Goodwitch will have something for us. Also we'll let them know the box here is defunct. Since the power is back on we can probably get people to secure it." Jaune rubbed his arm. "Everyone ready to go?"

"Right behind you." Pyrrha nudged his shoulder gently, grinning. Jaune smiled back and nodded. While they did not exactly restore power to the area, they did destroy the sarcophagus...and by extension prevented the power drainage from occurring again. All that was left to power on was the Industrial sector. And after that? After that came the clean up. Despite the power returning, the dark barrows of the grimm which infested the city still need to be purged. The walls, which stood quiet except for near the commercial area, would need to be retaken.

Still. One step at a time, Jaune thought. Perhaps their next assignment won't involve so much fighting.

XxXxXxXxX

Welkin parked his bike next to Yang, a block from the chemical work. He pulled his goggles off and ran a hand through his wet hair.

"This is a bad idea."

"Too late to back out now." Yang took a step forward, examining the darkened outline of the chemical plant.

"Well it's never too late...it's more like we're not going to back down." Welkin grabbed spare ammunition from the bike, as well as a small satchel of emergency supplies. He slid the box into his back pouch, and then slide a new magazine into his rifle.

"Ready to go?" Yang put loaded fresh bullets into her gauntlets. Welkin tossed her some spare strips of ammo. A bright white star shell illuminated the night, casting an eerie light over the darkened area.

"Looks like they're beckoning us in. Let's get this done." Welkin grinned and the two ran down the street toward the chemical plant.

XxXxXxXxX

Notes:

And that's that. We're going to be moving onto Chapter Eleven now! Thanks for reading and feel free to leave comments or critique! I appreciate the feedback. I think I'm going to have to go back and work on some character development, it would help I think.

_Encyclopedia Entry:_

_Morbis-thela. Nickname: This is a very common drug, however it can be extremely deadly. The formula is a mystery, as it is a closely guarded secret by the heads of the black market. It's common due to how "cheap it is to make" and how "easy it is to distribute." Not to mention, the drug has a very addicting quality to it, and buyers will go all out to attain just a few more syrettes. This drug is a hallucinogenic when injected or ingested, and more potent versions of this drug can even affect a user via skin contact. It warps the users mind and makes them feel at ease. However, this drug has a major flaw: the wanton blood lust that can arise in users. A user, rushed with the sense of euphoria, can end up spilling enough blood to fill an oil barrel. Abusers are hard to stop because their physical senses are deadened, so they quite literally feel no pain. People affected by the drug have a habit of speaking in a very relaxed pattern. Speech impediment is rarely a problem for users. Given to a strong enough person, the drug can create a deadly fighter. A person who cares less about WHO he kills, and more about WHEN. Ownership of any quantity of Morbis-thela is illegal. Production of any quantity of Morbis-thela is illegal. _


End file.
